Changes
by orionzbelt
Summary: A chance encounter with an arrogant yet alluring stranger starts a chain of events that lead to much needed changes in the life of a heart-broken Bella Swan. ALL HUMAN.
1. Tostitos and Cheese Sauce

Author's Note and Disclaimer: This is my first attempt at writing some sort of all human Twilight story, so please let me know what you think of this and if I should keep going.

And obviously, I don't own Twilight... just the idea for this story. If I owned Twilight, there'd be a new book every year... with lots of sparkly Edward in it...

*******

"Watching movies by myself on a Friday evening does _not_ make me a social reject," I reasoned to myself as I made my way across my tiny apartment to the couch while balancing a bag of Tostitos, a jar of nacho cheese sauce and a bottle of Dr. Pepper in my arms. Plopping down, I unloaded my treasures and turned on the television to the TV Guide Channel. I scanned the screen while popping open the bag of chips and then flipped to Lifetime. Time for the movie of the week. I stretched my legs out and opened the jar of cheese sauce. Right on cue, the phone rang as I dipped my first chip.

"Hello?" I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand, my eyes never straying from the television. I was in luck, it was a "country girl goes to the big city" story. I loved those. It made my mind race to the first time I had set foot in Seattle eight years ago.

"Bella?" The voice could barely be heard over the loud background noises.

"Alice? Where are you?" I muted my TV and licked some cheese from my fingers.

"The question is where are _you_? It's Friday night, where the hell are you?" Alice screamed into the phone. Leave it to my ever bouncy best friend to interrupt my quiet Friday night ritual. "Hello?"

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm home." I shrugged unapologetically. From the familiar sounds of glasses clinking and Irish jigs playing on a jukebox, I started picking up that my friend was at the tavern we had frequented during our days as college coeds downtown. I dipped another chip.

"I know that! Miss Cleo could've told me that! What I want to know is why aren't you here with – HEY BUDDY, THAT'S MINE!" she screeched, her normal chiming voice reaching octaves normally reserved for dogs. I heard rustling and shouting and then a slightly panting Alice came back to the phone. "Hey, sorry about that. Can you believe the nerve of these guys? I got up for a second to go near the door so I could hear you and some frat boy took my seat and was about to drink my beer!" Alice scoffed angrily. I stifled a laugh at the image of tiny Alice scaring away a large frat guy. "Freeloader!" she screamed in the direction of said guy.

"What a bastard," I muttered and rolled my eyes. "Maybe you should think about finding a new bar."

"Are you kidding me? Finnegan's is our place! To hell with all these little college kids," Alice ranted. "Besides, it makes me feel young to keep coming back to a place from our youth. Here's to the days before medical school and MBAs!" I heard Alice take a big swig from what I could only assume to be her usual drink of choice, a margarita with a sugar rim.

"Amen to that, sister," I said, taking a swill of my Dr. Pepper. "But, hey, I would've thought that hanging around all the younguns would make you feel old, granny. Isn't it almost past your bed time already?" I grinned. I knew she was feeling anxious about recently turning the big two-six because, as she reasoned, it was more than halfway to thirty, and clearly thirty was the beginning of collecting social security. I heard a gasp from the other end of the phone line and then the little pixie began shouting once more, though considerably less angrily than earlier.

"WHAT? Bitch! Why don't you come down here and say that to my face, Bella?" I laughed, as I could clearly tell she was hoping to provoke me into making an appearance.

"Look, I just don't feel like going out tonight. It's_ not_ a big deal." I shook my head and waved the remote control for emphasis.

"What do you mean it's not a big deal? You're always working, you never have a night off! When's the last time you came out with us, huh? Bella, I haven't seen you in _forever_! I've started to forget what you even look like!" Alice's voice reached a fever pitch, and I pulled the phone slightly away from my ears. After a few seconds, her voice quieted down. "Seriously, though, you haven't been out in ages," she hesitated slightly, her steam dying off from her earlier rant. "Not since Jacob broke up with you."

"Hey, that was a mutual thing! He did _not_ break up with me. He just…initiated it, is all." I said, cringing at the mention of my ex's name.

"Alright, that's fine, but you can't stay home and mope! I bet anything that Jake's not moping around. I'm such he's moved on by now!" Alice continued, effortlessly switching tactics.

"I'm not moping! There is no moping going on here!" I angrily dipped another chip, which broke in the jar. I stared at the drowning chip pathetically.

"No moping you say? I bet you're sitting on your couch in pajamas watching some Lifetime movie of the week. It's probably some tearjerker about a lost puppy or something equally pathetic, and you're probably guzzling soda and popping M&M's," Alice rattled off matter-of-factly. I let out a low growl. Damn that girl knows me well. "What'd you say?"

"I said it's about a girl from South Dakota who moves to New York City to become a ballerina," I said stiffly.

"I knew it!" she said triumphantly. "Bella, you are entirely too predictable sometimes." Alice laughed and took another loud slurp from her drink.

"Well it's not my fault that you're part psychic." I grumbled. I heard more tinkling laugher. "And for your information, I'm perfectly happy sitting here by myself," I lied, wiggling my fingers in the jar of cheese sauce to get the chip out. I slid it up the side and it was almost to safety when it broke off once more, leaving only a small bite sized piece in my fingers. "And it's Tostitos and cheese sauce, not M&M's." I added lamely.

"Sweetie, Tostitos and cheese are the official food of the female moper. Now get your ass down here before I go over and drag you." Alice said firmly and hung up for emphasis.

Sighing in defeat, I stared at the television as the country girl got off the bus and stared in awe at her surroundings. Shutting the TV off, my gaze wandered to a framed photo that was sitting on top of the TV. It was of me and Jake. It was taken about ten months ago, during the weekend we went skiing at Mission Ridge. I hadn't wanted to go, as I hated anything that would require any amount of athletic ability and/or grace, but I had done it for him. That sort of seemed to be a pattern in our relationship, I thought wryly. I would always be the one to bend over backwards to please him. It never really did seem to come back my way, though.

In the photo, we were both wearing red ski parkas which contrasted vividly with the snow as we wrestled on the ground. He was rubbing snow into my head, my brown hair splayed across the white ground, and I was trying to sneak some snow into his collar. We were both laughing, looking so happy to be together and enjoying life. It was before his firm reassigned him to another continent, before the broken promises, before the shouting on static-y international phone lines and before the realization that we were doomed. Sadly, I thought of our last conversation about three months ago. It had never occurred to me that a two year relationship would end over the internet, and yet that is exactly what happened. I had brought up the issue of our lack of conversation and involvement in each other's lives, thinking that perhaps we would be able to repair it. Instead, Jake had jumped at that chance to unload his feelings and had revealed that he no longer felt it would be able to work between us. He though that we were "literally and figuratively continents apart" due to our three month separation. Angrily, I stuffed the cheese soaked chip in my mouth, remembering the cold and distanced way in which he had expressed himself. As much as I wanted to believe it had been a mutual agreement, I realized it had been completely his doing. He was the one who gave up on me, on us and our future. I had put up a fight, but in the end I realized it was futile and that I couldn't hold on to something – someone – who didn't want me. And so here I was, three months later, sitting at home in my pajamas and watching yet another sob story on TV while drowning my sorrows in junk food. How…sad.

How pathetic.

In that moment, something clicked in my mind and I realized I had to change. I couldn't just stay the same as always, pretending I was okay and living life as an empty vessel. I was twenty five years old, dammit, and I was going to enjoy my life even if it would take some not-so-gentle nudging from my best friend.

"Enough," I muttered, crumpling up the bag of chips. Standing up, I picked up my phone and dialed before I lost my nerve. "Hey. I'll be there in twenty minutes. No need to drag me anywhere." I hung up before Alice's shrieks of joy could pierce my ears, and blew a slow breath out.

Time to live again.

What a daunting idea...


	2. Inner Bella

Author's Note: So here's chapter 2, I couldn't wait to put it up. I still have a few more chapters already written, but I'm hesitant to put them up unless anyone really wants to read them. This is my first attempt at writing anything like this, so hopefully it's good!

And Twilight ain't mine...unforunately. But the idea for the story is, and that's okay with me.

**********************

After a shy smile at the bouncer who let me into the bar with a wink of his eye, I spotted Alice at our usual corner. She waved exuberantly at me as I shrugged off my coat.

"Bella!" she shouted above the din of the crowd. With a small wave and a resigned look on my face, I wove my way through the sea of people and headed towards the table. Finnegan's was packed with the Friday night college crowd celebrating the end of the week at full force. Jingly Irish music blared from the jukebox and there were a couple of beer pong games going on in the opposite corner from where Alice and our friends sat. Every so often a loud cheer would break out as a frat boy sank a cup. I could just make out the blond hair cascading down my friend Rosalie's back from where I was. Just as I was walking by the bar, a large man careened my way. I sidestepped to avoid his drunken stumble and felt someone push against my shoulder. My legs tangled into each other and I was thrown off balance. Accustomed to falling, I closed my eyes and braced for the impact.

I wasn't disappointed.

I slammed sideways into the bar and slid halfway onto the floor before I grabbed hold of the edge of the counter, rattling the glasses and half empty bottles behind me.

"What the hell!" I shrieked. Opening my eyes slowly, I stared at a pair of black shoes just a couple feet away from my face. Shiny, and totally impractical for a bar night. Fitting for an asshole who doesn't watch where he's going. I tilted my head up to say just that, and let my eyes travel upwards from the shoes to a pair of dazzling emerald green eyes. Holy crap, did people actually have eyes that color green? I was partially aware that everyone in my immediate vicinity had stopped and stared at my little performance, but I couldn't stop staring into his eyes. It didn't escape me however, that his face was equally as dazzling as his eyes. His straight nose, high cheekbones and strong jaw burned into my retinas. His hair was a soft bronze color, not quite red and not quite brown. It fell onto his forehead in comfortable tumbles, as if he never bothered to brush it or bother with it. I was speechless. Not only was he beautiful, but he seemed almost…ethereal. Like he should have a bright golden aura emanating from his body to accompany his godly looks. I felt almost humbled in his presence, and it felt sort of fitting that I was practically kneeling at his feet. A little voice in my head told me to stop staring, to get up and to walk away, but for some reason, my body wouldn't respond. In reality, it might have only been two seconds, but it felt like I was gaping for at least two minutes.

And then he had to speak and ruin it all.

"Are you okay, Grace?" The man flashed a devastating crooked grin. "Usually a girl doesn't fall on her knees until I've bought her at least one drink." The crowd around me burst out laughing and cheered him with clinking glasses. Snapping out of my daze, I blinked stupidly at the man. What the _hell _did he just say? My brain kicked in and I glared at the stranger standing above me. What a great way to begin this night. Clearly I wanted to leave my apartment to be humiliated in front of everyone by this guy. This… incredibly handsome, beautiful…I mentally shook my head at my train of thought. This ridiculously arrogant bastard. That sounded about right. "Here, let me give you a hand." He extended his hand towards me, but I ignored the gesture with a toss of my head and stood up, fixing my blue shirt in the process.

"Why don't you watch where you're going?" I managed to sputter, feeling an embarrassed blush creeping onto my cheeks. There must've been about thirty pairs of eyes on us due to my display of gracefulness. To make it even worse, I could feel a large wet spot on the upper right side of my shirt from where the contents of some of the glasses had spilled and dripped off the counter onto me. Looking over the man's shoulder, I could see Alice's tiny head bopping as she attempted to see what was going on over the crowd. The man's green eyes glinted and the amused look vanished from his face and was replaced by mocking sneer.

"Maybe _you_ should watch where you're going. Apparently navigating around chairs and furniture is quite a feat for you." he smirked. A loud laugh rose around us and I felt the heat in my cheeks rise even more.

"You don't know me." I snapped, wishing I had never left my apartment.

"I don't? I'm a pretty good reader of people." he said. He glanced up and down my body slowly, purposefully, and then grinned wickedly. "Seems pretty self-explanatory." My jaw dropped and then snapped shut. Flustered, I attempted to walk around the man. "You're leaving already, Grace?" he drawled in a bored tone as he picked up his beer. Something deep in me snapped, and before I knew it, I twirled around to face the man one more time. I didn't care about the audience any more. I had to crane my neck up to stare him in the eye. Geez, how tall was he?

"My name is not Grace, and you are an asshole." I said calmly, as if explaining it to a five year old. If he had known me, he would've known that he was treading on dangerous ground. This was the calm before the storm. I squinted at him, staring him down Clint Eastwood style. "So why don't you just take your stupid comments and your little frat boy audience and go find someone else who's more amused by childish jokes." A murmur broke out around me and a couple of drunken guys clapped sloppily. Inner Bella jumped up and down and cheered. Where had that come from? I raised my eyebrows at him expectantly.

And the asshole grinned. He _fucking _grinned.

"Wow, Not Grace. I didn't think you had it in you." He laughed, his green eyes crinkling and his white teeth glistening. "I'm surprised. Pleasantly surprised. How about a drink?" My eyebrows rose even higher at that request. He must be delusional.

"Sure." The words popped out of my mouth before I could contain them and his smile grew even larger. As he started twisting towards the bartender, my hand acted on auto pilot and shot out and grabbed his bottle. Quickly, I splashed the contents into his face. His green eyes popped open and stared at me disbelievingly. He wasn't the only one. I couldn't believe I'd actually done that! Beat a swift retreat, be witty and then walk away, Bella! "Thanks for that drink. It hit the spot." I smiled cheekily as I slammed the bottle onto the counter, and walked away quickly, my heart beating out of my chest from both the adrenaline and from pretending to be that confident.

Holy crap.

Why did that feel so good?

Take that, men!


	3. She Hates Me

Author's Note: Here's my continued attempt at an all human fanfiction. Please read and review and let me know what you think.

I don't own Twilight. Just the idea for this story. But wouldn't it be awesome if I did own Edward and Bella?

******

"Bella? What the hell happened? Who was that? Are you okay?" A frantic Alice pulled me into the chair next to her while rattling off questions without pause. I rolled my eyes and gladly accepted the beer offered to me by Rosalie.

"Alice, let the girl breathe!" Rosalie sighed, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. I smiled shakily at my friend and took a long gulp from the bottle. Alice quieted down, but her bright blue eyes were sparkling in excitement. The little pixie was practically vibrating next to me. I took a moment to study her and laughed quietly. Amidst the college crowd wearing jeans and t shirts, Alice was marching to her own beat. Never one to blend in, Alice was wearing a shocking green mini dress with strings of silver and green beads falling from around her neck. Her short inky hair was flipped up at the ends in little spikes, and her Manolos were slapping against the ground as she kicked her legs like a little kid awaiting Christmas. Her enthusiasm was infections, and I turned to her grinning in spite of myself.

"Alright. Hit me, Alice." Her face lit up like a light. She paused, thinking about which question to ask first and then leaned forward conspiratorially.

"Who was that hot guy you were talking to?" She asked, raising her eyebrow. Rosalie leaned forward as well, unable to mask her curiosity any longer.

"What hot guy?" Gulping the bitter liquid down, I stared across the room at the green-eyed man who was bewilderedly mopping up beer from his face while attempting to locate me across the crowded bar. He glanced my way and I ducked my head to avoid looking at him in the eyes.

"The one with the red hair over by the bar," Alice said, swiveling her little head to point him out with her finger.

"Alice!" I exclaimed, slapping my hand over her finger and pushing it down onto the table. "Don't point at him!" I snuck a peek over at him again, and saw him talking to a tall burly guy with black curly hair. They were both laughing and the green-eyed man was pointing in my direction. He had a small harem of sorority girls staring at him with googly eyes and they laughed in unison whenever the man and his friend laughed. Great. My face flushed at the thought of what they were discussing at my expense.

"Why not? What's wrong with that?" She pouted slightly at me. Leave it to Alice to try to win me over with her signature pout.

"I-I just don't want him to see me, obviously." I stammered, ignoring the flush on my face. I looked at the man from the corner of my eye. He was staring at me while his friend continued to talk to him. Our eyes locked and I couldn't look away. His green eyes battled with mine and then a small smile broke out on his face. I blushed even fiercer, and slid my eyes away from his. Was he mocking me? I wished I could read his mind. What was he thinking? "And he doesn't have red hair, it's sorta bronze colored." I tacked on as an afterthought, my mind still revolving around the man. Rosalie and Alice looked at each other and grinned. Why did I say that? A sly look came into Rosalie's sapphire eyes and she winked at me.

"You want him, don't you?" she nudged my arm, taking a small sip from her cosmo. Ever so classy, the bright pink of her drink matched her low cut shirt and the sparkling earrings hanging amidst her blonde hair.

"Ha!" I snorted as I took another large gulp from my beer, nearly emptying it. "I don't really go for arrogant assholes who push me into bars." I shook my head again, only to be met with confused looks. "What?"

"He didn't push you into the bar, Bella." Alice said slowly, as if talking to a child. I froze, beer halfway to my mouth. "I didn't see much, but the guy behind you was the one who knocked you down and then walked off."

"Are you saying that he didn't…?" I suddenly felt woozy.

"No, he saw a guy push you into the bar and then he went over to help," Rosalie explained, taking another small sip from her drink. She shot a death glare at a guy who was attempting to walk towards her. The frat boy swiveled on his heels and walked rapidly in the other direction, probably to castrate himself.

"Hey, are you okay? You look a little…flushed." I swatted Alice's hand away from my face.

"No, no, I'm fine." I lied, sneaking another look at the man. As luck would have it, he was staring at me with another large grin on his face. Apparently the wild look in my eyes told him that I had just been informed of my mistake. Well, so what if I had made a rash judgment in thinking he had been the one to knock me down? He still was the one who instigated the whole thing by being so crude. Maybe not a total asshole, but he was still an arrogant man. Still a jerk. He raised an eyebrow at me and then crooked a finger at me, indicating that I should walk over to him. My eyes popped out of my skull. Was he joking? Was he so full of himself that he thought I'd want to talk to him after our little encounter? I shook my head so rapidly that my hair went flying around my shoulders. Alice and Rosalie turned to look at him and then let out a mutual gasp.

"Bella! Go over there!" Alice squealed, bouncing on her seat. I shook my head again and tried to hide behind my hair. I could still see him, though, and watched in dismay as he set some money down on the bar and started walking towards us. Groaning, I slid down in my seat and tried futilely to hide behind my beer. I didn't want to deal with any more jerks. I'd had my fill of insensitive guys for this year.

"Oh, he's coming!" Rosalie whispered loudly with uncharacteristic giddiness. Alice's enthusiasm was apparently rubbing off on her. "Go talk to him!"

"What? Are you crazy?" I whispered back and turned my head in the opposite direction from where he was coming. Unfortunately, I found myself staring at the wall.

"Get up and go over to him," Alice urged and tried to push me out of my chair. I swiveled my head back to her and gave her my best glare.

"And why would I want to do that?" I spat out while trying to hold onto my chair. Damn that girl was strong! "He may not have pushed me but he's still an asshole who humiliated me. Let's just go!"

"I don't think so! A hot guy's looking for you, probably to apologize, and you're going over there if I have to pull this chair out from underneath you." Alice threatened from behind clenched teeth and I momentarily stopped struggling, weighing the consequences of having two incidents in the same night. Fall on my ass, or just say a quick hi and bye to the man coming my way?

"Why should I?" I stubbornly asked, trying to buy some time to think. I could see the light gleaming off his bronze locks as he was approaching us. He was barely five feet away from me at this point, and was lingering at the jukebox. I could see that he pretending not to notice the commotion we were causing.

"Because you haven't talked to a guy in three months, and even if he is a jerk, it's better than sitting around moping and contemplating death to all guys, or chanting whatever new feminist mantra you have now." Alice said fiercely. My jaw dropped and then snapped shut again. Was I really doing that? "Maybe he's a good guy, maybe he's not. In any case, consider it practice in talking to guys again. I will _not _let Jacob Black ruin you for all men!" She cried while trying to loosen my death grip on the chair. I stared her dumbly.

Whoa.

And I thought I was the only one who had lingering issues with Jake. Apparently my friends were still as upset with his treatment of our relationship as I was. Flustered, I tried to come up with something to say, but before I could, Rosalie cleared her throat, and both Alice and I shot our eyes over to her.

"Plus, seriously, Bella, you need to get some action. I can smell the frustration from over here." Rosalie smirked. I scoffed, but silently thanked her for clearing the tension. Alice pursed her lips and shot Rosalie a look. Unfazed, Rosalie cocked an eyebrow at me and took another sip, as if she were enjoying the drama enfolding in her presence. With a frustrated sigh, I got up and glared at my so-called friends. Alice's face brightened and she clapped her hands like a little kid. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my beer. I needed some liquid courage.

"You guys are now dead to me." I muttered, finish the bottle in one long gulp. Rosalie looked on with an amused smile as she took the empty bottle from me.

"That's good, Bella, but fix your hair," Alice motioned towards my head. I grimaced and tucked my hair behind my ear. "No, think 'sexy'. Go like this," Alice shook her dark hair but stopped as soon as she caught the full blast of my icy stare. "Or...that looks good too..."

I sighed deeply and walked slowly to where the man was standing. From behind, I could see how broad his back was, and how nicely it filled out his dark blue dress shirt. He was tall, over six feet, and muscular in all the right places, though I could tell he had a lean torso. He had rolled up his shirt sleeves a few times, and I could see the muscles dancing as he pushed the buttons. I blinked a couple time to clear my brain from my current train of thought. I stopped a couple feet away from him and shoved my hands in my pockets while staring at the wall in front of me. From the corner of my eye, I saw the man glance towards me.

"Oh, hi," The man said nonchalantly, grinning as if greeting an old friend. "I didn't see you coming."

"I'm sure," I mumbled softly, avoiding his eyes and instead looking at the jukebox. My heart was beating at an uncomfortable rate. "Look, I just wanted you to know that - -"

"Hey, no need to apologize. It's not a big deal." The man said flippantly and shrugged. He put a coin into the jukebox and continued to flip through the records. My eyes shot up to his face. What an arrogant... Sure I had been planning on apologizing – eventually – but he didn't really need to assume I was going to do so. Plus it wasn't as if he was clear of all fault.

"I wasn't apologizing." I said quickly, much to his – and my - surprise.

"You weren't?" The man asked incredulously, cocking an eyebrow. He crossed his arms and turned to look at me, and I tried to ignore how delicious the muscles of his arms looked. His emerald eyes laughed at me. "That's funny, I could've sworn that you poured a beer on me."

"Well, you were acting like an asshole!" I argued defensively, and crossed my own arms. My face was starting to turn red from this argument. This man was bringing out the worst in me. I could feel the familiar stirrings of my temper starting to flare up once more.

"And you were acting much more pleasant?" He shot me what I assume he believed to be a charming smile. I rolled my eyes and ignored the weird feeling in my stomach that the smile had produced.

"Do you make it a habit to accost women in bars?" I asked curtly, wishing Alice or Rosalie would come to my rescue. Why did I let them talk me into doing these things?

"I'd hardly say that talking to you counts as accosting," The man laughed. His laughter sounded melodic, even over the noise in the bar. "In any case, pouring beer on me would mean that _you _accosted _me_." He reasoned, pointing at his chest. I shifted my weight uncomfortably, my eyes snapping away from his finger on his strong chest back to his eyes. My mind raced as I tried to come up with a retort. It felt like my brain was acting in slow motion. "But, don't worry, sweetie, all is forgiven." The man said graciously with a smile as he leaned against the jukebox.

"Don't call me sweetie," I snapped. I wasn't one of those stupid girls who hung onto every word he spoke. He gazed at me with a calculating look in his eyes and then nodded and smiled once more.

"Alright. Fair enough. But apology accepted anyway."

"I haven't apologized." I said in an annoyed tone, uncrossing my arms and placing a hand on the jukebox as I leaned in towards him.

"But you will, won't you?" The man smirked, as he put his own hand on the jukebox and leaned closer to my face. His green eyes were dancing in the dim bar light. I blinked stupidly. I could feel my neck starting to flush, not in anger this time, but from his proximity.

"Why should I?" I sputtered, taking a small step back. He grinned crookedly and stepped forward once more, ridding us of even more distance. I gulped noticeably, and the man laughed again.

"Because it's the polite thing to do," he said matter-of-factly. He leaned his head closer to me. I could tell he was taking joy in making me feel uncomfortable. He smelled…delicious. My eyes glazed over momentarily and then I shook myself out of it.

"And what would you know about being polite?" I asked in a small voice, taking another larger step back. To my left I could make out Rosalie and Alice peering not so surreptitiously at us.

"I know plenty," he smiled and stepped closer again. He raked his hand through his hair and cocked his head to the side. "Look, why don't you just apologize, and we can put this behind us, and then I can buy you a real drink. What do you say?" I gaped at him. Were we even having the same conversation?

"You must be delusional!" I cried out, stepping back once more. Of course, me being me, it resulted in my foot becoming entangled in the legs of a chair that the former occupant had left in the aisle. I felt my body tipping backwards and went into my automatic fall mode: my eyes closed and my hands went out to the sides. What I wasn't prepared, however, was the feel of two warm hands encircling my waist and catching me two feet from the ground. My eyes popped open and I found myself staring into a pair of green eyes. My face flushed crimson as my body became aware of how close he was holding me. His strong arms had me close to his chest and I could feel him breathing through his thin shirt. He grinned that damned crooked smile once more and my head swam. I realized then that I had been holding my breath and I took in a shaky breath. He slowly raised me up and set me on my wobbly feet, though whether I was shaky from the fall or from his touch, I couldn't tell. His arms remained around my waist and my hands rested automatically on his arms. Oh God, they were as tight as I imagined they would be. I snapped myself out of my swooning and cleared my throat. "Thanks…" I mumbled and tried to take a step back, but his arms wouldn't let me go.

"Are you alright?" He asked smoothly, his voice lowering slightly. I nodded slowly. His green eyes sparkled with mischief. "If you wanted me to hold you, you should've just asked."

Why did he have to ruin these moments?

"I'm fine." I snapped and broke free from his hold. Way to be full of himself. I wonder how often he held strange women in his arms and expected them to fall for his slick lines. Yeah, well, not this girl. He raised an eyebrow at my reaction. Was he actually confused? "You are the most arrogant and annoying person I have ever met." I spat out, accenting each insult. His green eyes darkened for a moment and I expected him to walk away. Instead, he surprised me by having his face break out into the biggest grin I had seen on him yet.

"Well, that's a pity, because I find you to be the most delightful person I've met in quite a long time." I scoffed. "What can I say? I like a challenge." His eyes turned serious and he took a step closer. I could feel his warm breath on my face. Suddenly the room became too warm. Rattled, I panicked and retreated to the jukebox.

"Here, let me help you find a song," I pounded two keys expertly. Puddle of Mudd's "She Hates Me" began to blare out across the bar to the delight of a couple of frat boys who began to cheer. With that, I spun around and walked back towards Rosalie and Alice who were staring open mouthed at what had happened. Without so much as a glance back at him, though I would never admit that I wanted to look, I picked up my coat and headed towards the door, with my friends scrambling to follow.

As we stood outside the bar waiting for a cab to come by, I explained to them what happened. I ranted for a full three minutes as I walked in circles around my two friends. Rosalie and Alice gave each other wary glances as they listened to me vent. When I had finally quieted down, I leaned against the building and crossed my arms. Just as a cab rounded the corner, and Alice went running down the sidewalk to catch it, I heard the opening chords of "She Hates Me" come on again. Puzzled, I turned to look through the bar window and saw the man standing at the jukebox with a peculiar look on his face. What was that about?

"Bella! Come on!" Rosalie's voice cut through my daze and I turned to them, standing by the cab. I gave the window one last quick look and then ran to the cab with a strange feeling in my stomach.

Was it…regret?


	4. McDreamy

Author's Note: I'm really pleased that people seem to be enjoying this story. I'm taking advantage of the snow day to update a lot. Please read and review and let me know if you like it!

I don't own Twilight, obviously, or Edward would never have disappeared in New Moon. But I do own this story.

*******

"Doctor, you're needed in exam 3." The nurse's soft voice interrupted my daydream and I jerked my head off my arms. Smiling tiredly at the nurse, I got up and stretched with a groan. A short glance at my watch told me it was 3am. I gave myself a minute to come to my senses again. I had been trying to use my brief break to take a short nap and make up for my lack of sleep, but every time I closed my eyes, all I saw were visions of _him_. It was getting to be excruciating how often he appeared in my thoughts. At first I had only thought of him in frustration, but over the course of the two weeks since that night at the bar, my thoughts had become less hostile and more contemplative. I thought back to his green eyes, to his soft yet strong touch. I remembered the velvet tenor of his voice, and the way his hair had glowed bronze in the light of the bar. Most of all, I wondered about his actions, and if I had possibly misunderstood any of them, or if he was really as much of an asshole as I thought he was. My thoughts would slide back to the look I had seen on his face when I had looked through the window one last time. Sighing deeply, I slid my white coat on and grabbed my stethoscope. This wasn't the time for this. There were bigger and more important things to worry about right now. I wrapped my stethoscope around my neck and hurried to the room. I knew better by now than to be late when my attending physician called for me.

However, fate had other plans for me as I got stuck waiting for an elevator that seemed to dawdle between the fourth and fifth floors for two minutes. I looked at my watch and then ran for the stairs, tripping slightly over a janitor's mop that had been left by the door. Slamming open the doors with a bang, I jumped down two flights of stairs and slid into the room just as one of the other residents had finished taking the patient's vitals. I panted as I joined the doctors standing in the back of the room, the ones in front forming a sort of wall between me and the bed. Dr. Roberts glanced up at me from where he was standing at the foot of the bed, jotting notes down on the chart.

"How nice of you to join us, Dr. Swan." My face flushed as the other residents looked at me, some with amused expressions, others looking slightly aghast that I would be late. I clicked my pen and scrambled to get my notebook out. I looked over my neighbor's shoulder and started scribbling key notes down. Last name, Cullen. First name, Edward. Car accident, chance of head injury, etc. I was so caught up in getting my information down that I didn't notice Dr. Roberts looming in front of me. He cleared his throat and my head snapped up. "Since you missed out on the first part of this examination, Dr. Swan, how about you help out with the next portion?" I cocked my head to the side awaiting his instructions. Experience had told me that this couldn't be a good thing. "Mr. Cullen requires an IV and an escort to the MRI. Please help him out with that." He held out the chart and looked at me expectantly. My heart dropped slightly. This was a nurse's job at best.

Disappointed and silently cursing myself for being late, I nodded and stepped forward, taking the chart. As I walked to the foot of the bed with my head down, I didn't miss the fact that a couple of my female colleagues were grumbling quietly amongst themselves. I opened the chart and double checked the orders that my attending had written there. Yep. An IV and an escort. I snapped the chart shut and pasted a smile onto my face, entirely too aware that everyone was still watching my every move.

"How are you today, Mr. Cullen?" I asked as I walked to the cart and got a bag of saline out. A velvet voice rang through the room.

"A little beat up, but alright. And how are you, Dr. Swan?" My eyes widened and my grip tightened around the bag. That voice. I had dreamed about that voice for the past two weeks. There was no way that it could be him…

I swiveled around and looked at the bed. There, lying on standard issue white hospital sheets was my Adonis. He was bleeding slightly from a small head wound, and there was a series of scratches across his face, but he was still as glorious as ever. His green eyes had a mischievous look to them and he smiled tiredly at me. I stood there gaping at him until I heard Dr. Roberts clear his throat again. I shook my head and loosened my kung fu grip on the saline bag.

"Is everything alright, Dr. Swan? If this is too much for you to handle today, then maybe some other doctor should take over." Dr. Roberts peered at me over his glasses with a stern, yet bored look on his face. I knew that it wasn't so much as a suggestion, as an order. My face fell and I heard one of the female doctors attempt to push her way through the wall of white coats. I caught a movement from the bed and saw the man – or should I say, Edward, attempting to sit up.

"No, that's alright. I think I'd rather if Dr. Swan continued with me today," Edward said in a firm voice. I turned to look at him. His eyes bore into mine. "I trust her to take good care of me." My face flushed lightly and I saw Dr. Roberts turn with a slight shrug of his shoulders. He led the group of residents out the door, with a few of the women trailing behind to simultaneously shoot me glares and smile at Edward. I sighed and tilted my head at Edward. I didn't know how to react. While it was true that I'd been thinking about him nonstop, our last interaction had consisted of me not only walking out on him after arguing, but also tossing a beer in his face. One couldn't exactly say we were on the best terms at this point.

"You didn't have to do that." I said stiffly, as I walked over to his bedside. I tried to ignore how close we were as I hooked the bag onto the pole. I looked down at his face and saw that he was frowning slightly at me, as if trying to decipher me. "What?" I snapped, perhaps a little too harshly.

"Why didn't you stand up for yourself?" He asked, his forehead still creased. I shook my head at him, confused. "You didn't say anything when he was insulting you in front of the other doctors." I snorted and grabbed a tourniquet from the cart.

"That's not how it works around here. Not to mention that you shouldn't be the one lecturing about insults, as I recall that you're particularly good at throwing them around." I said with a raised eyebrow. He looked vaguely amused, though still troubled. I turned back to him in a businesslike way. "Now, please give me your arm, Mr. Cullen. I need to start your IV."

"It's Edward." He said, raising his arm. I nodded, unwilling to say his name, yet savoring it nevertheless. I reached for his arm. As soon as my fingers touched his skin, I felt a current jolt through my arm. I gasped and stepped away, my eyes flashing to his face. His eyes were wide, and it looked like he had felt it as well. What the hell was that? Blushing, I cleared my throat and reached for the tourniquet, wrapping it around his arm as quickly as possible, ignoring the pounding in my chest as I touched his skin.

"Alright, I-I'm going to start your IV now, so you're going to feel a prick from the needle," I stuttered. "Please don't move." He nodded, his eyes on me the entire time as I snapped on my gloves and reached for his arm again. I grazed my fingers lightly over his skin, searching for the vein. I noticed his breathing became a little shallow, and I bit my lip trying to steady my hand. Finding the vein, I quickly inserted the needle and hooked up the IV. I pushed a dosage of morphine for the pain and then glanced up at his face and saw that his eyes were glued on mine still. "All done." I said quietly, and stepped away to throw out my gloves.

"You know, you're pretty tame when you're playing doctor." Edward observed, breaking the silence that had settled around us. I rolled my eyes, as I initialed the chart. Tame? What was I, a dog? My irritation began to take hold again, pushing against my admiration for him.

"And you _were_ almost decent, until you opened your mouth." I muttered, as I slammed the chart into the holder at the foot of his bed. He grinned at my reaction. He opened his mouth to speak, but we were both interrupted by the door slamming open and a large man bursting inside.

"HOLY SHIT, EDWARD!" A man with dark curly haired shouted, taking in the sight before him. I couldn't help but smile, as his appearance was extremely comical. He was wearing a badly buttoned dress shirt over a pair of Snoopy pajama bottoms, and he had a running sneaker on one foot, and a slipper on the other, obviously showing the haste in which he had left the house. "Are you dead?" The man's boyish face was crumpled with worry, and I instantly wanted to give him a hug. That's when I realized he was the other man from the bar.

"Emmett, I'm obviously not dead." Edward laughed, and was then immediately engulfed in a bear hug as the man flew across the room and practically jumped into the bed. "Back off, man, I can't breathe!" he choked out. Emmett slid off the bed and looked at me with a huge grin on his face.

"Hey, I know you! You're the girl from the bar!" He laughed, looking from me to Edward and then back again. I nodded stiffly, wondering where he was going with this particular train of thought. I could see Edward stiffen slightly as well. "Dude, I totally would have taken a beer to the face for you. You're like a female McDreamy!" I stared at him for a second, and then laughed. For some reason, I found his statement funny and not the least bit obnoxious. There was no trace of arrogance in his voice, just honesty.

"I doubt you would have deserved a beer to the face." I said smiling at him. I stuck my hand out for him to shake. "I'm Dr. Swan and I'll be taking care of Edward for a while." My hand was grabbed quickly and pumped up and down rapidly by Emmett. His enthusiasm was going to tear my arm out of my socket!

"Is he alright, Doc? Will he make it?" he asked, leaning on the bed and ruffling Edward's hair. I stifled a laugh as Edward shoved his hand away.

"I'm taking him up to get an MRI right now, but he'll make it. Though I don't know if I would say he's alright exactly. His foot seems to be permanently lodged in his mouth." I said matter-of-factly, as if I were reading from his chart. Emmett burst out laughing and Edward glared at me. "In my professional opinion, that is." I added, as I went around the bed flipping the brakes up so I could wheel him upstairs.

"Dude, how did this happen?" Emmett asked, shaking his head. He helped me push the bed away from the wall and walked next to Edward's head as I wheeled him outside the room. Edward shook his head and looked slightly embarrassed.

"I was driving home –"

"Probably speeding." Emmett interjected.

"—At a reasonable and safe speed," Edward said behind clenched teeth. I pushed the button for the elevator and grinned at the two men in front of me. "And out of nowhere, this _wolf_," Edward spat out with distaste, "comes running out into the road and I swerved to avoid him like an idiot. I hit a tree and got stuck between my steering wheel and my seat. Some guy came running up to my car to check on me, and I guess he called 911. But the weirdest part was that just before I passed out, I could've sworn that I saw the wolf standing by the side of the road fucking grinning at me." He finished, shaking his head in anger. Emmett met my eyes over Edward's head and I shrugged and pointed to my head. Head injury, for certain. Edward sighed. "I can see you, guys. I'm not blind." He sounded like a petulant little kid. His eyelids fluttered from the morphine.

"You gotta stop thinking you're indestructible, little bro." Emmett chastised, much to Edward's annoyance. The elevator dinged and I maneuvered Edward's bed into it with Emmett's help. Edward's eyes were all but closed at this point. Two other doctors came scurrying into the elevator, leaving no space for Emmett to come in. With a wave he left to go back to Edward's room to wait for us. I looked down at Edward as the elevator carried us up. His face looked peaceful as his eyelashes rested against his cheeks. His bronze hair draped over his forehead and I was tempted to push it back off his face. I probably would have had there not been other doctors around. It was so easy to get caught up in the beauty of his face. His eyes snapped open and stared at me.

"Don't get distracted by me, Swan, and cut off a leg by accident. I know lawyers."

If only he could just stay silent…


	5. I Wanna Be Sedated

Author's Note: It's really great getting these positive comments back from people. Thanks so much! Please read, review and let me know what you think!

And, no, I don't own Twilight or Edward or Bella. Just this story. Sad but true….

*******

After a series of tests, I wheeled a practically comatose Edward back to his room. Part of me wished he would always be as quiet as he was at that moment. It was much easier to think him agreeable and attractive when he wasn't spouting off nonsense. He had been so quiet during the rest of the ride up and through the whole procedure, that I found myself almost smiling at the way he would look curiously at his surroundings. His big green eyes and messy hair made him look childish, and I had to fight the urge to soothe him whenever he cast a nervous smile my way. Instead I spoke in short, terse sentences as I guided him through the procedure, my thumping heart being the only giveaway that he was affecting me with his presence. If only I could keep a syringe of morphine on me at all times. His behavior towards me since we'd met had been so wildly different, ranging from obnoxious to quiet and flirtatious, and back to annoying, that I idly wondered if he was bipolar. Maybe there was some way to sneak in a psych consult. Before I could get too far on that train of thought, Emmett sprang up from his chair inside Edward's room, and helped me push the bed back against the wall. I locked the wheels into place and then motioned for him to follow me outside so we could talk without disturbing Edward.

"So how is he?" Emmett pounced as soon as I shut the door behind me. I smiled at his enthusiastic concern for his brother.

"The MRI showed no signs of brain injury, though it still is possible he has a mild concussion. We'd like to keep him overnight and observe him for any changes." I said, as I scribbled my notes onto the chart and passed them to a nurse who was hovering near us. She looked at the instructions and grinned as she went inside to hook Edward up to the heart monitor. Emmett's body relaxed in a clear sign of relief.

"Oh, man, that's excellent. I was freaking out on the way here. All they told me was that my brother was in a car accident," he sighed, leaning against the wall for support. "Our parents are out of state at a conference, and I don't know what I would've done if…" he trailed off, shaking his head. His boisterous personality disappeared for a second and I saw how much he loved his brother. I smiled gently at him and reached up to place a hand on his shoulder.

"It's best not to even think about it. There's no point. He'll be out of here tomorrow afternoon and ready to drive you nuts again." Emmett laughed at my words, and then tilted his head to look me in the eye.

"You know, you might be the only woman besides our mom to actually call Edward out on his bullshit," He stated bluntly. I raised my eyebrow in disbelief. I couldn't possibly be the only one to find his brother annoying. He laughed again, clearly reading my mind. "Don't get me wrong, I'm sure lots of them find him full of himself, but the majority usually fall for that crap and none ever actually point it out."

"So he's always been like this?" I asked, trying to fool myself I was only curious from a professional perspective. After all, a mood change would be indicative of any mental problems…

"Kind of. He wasn't like this back in college. He was that quiet guy in the background, never really the life of the party," Emmett hesitated. "Then he got his heart broken by this _bitch_," he snarled, surprising me with the venom behind his words. "And he's never really been the same again. She just brought out the worst in him. It's kind of amusing at times," Emmett admitted with a dimply grin, "but that's probably cause it's not directed at me. Still, it's refreshing to see someone giving it back to him."

"Emmett, believe me, I will never fail to point out if your brother is full of crap." I grinned up at him. He nodded his approval and pulled me into a big bear hug, my feet swinging off the ground. I let out a surprised gasp and then laughed with him.

"I know, Doc. That's why I like you." He released me and set me back on my feet. Emmett was exactly the type of brother that I would've loved to have growing up. I shook my head, smiling, at his exuberance and opened the door to go back into Edward's room. His morphine must've been gone by now. I could hear soft giggles and Edward's velvet voice. I pushed the door open and saw the nurse sitting on his bed with her legs crossed, in what I assume she thought was a seductive manner, though I think it's rather hard to pull off when wearing pink scrubs. Edward was propped up against the pillows, his hospital gown pushed down to reveal his chest, grinning at her. The setting would have looked rather intimate were it not for the wires he was holding in his hand. My smile fell from my face. For a brief second, a weird sensation flared up in me, as I watched how she touched his hand as she giggled. Pushing it to the side, I rolled my eyes and heard Emmett stifle a laugh behind me. Seriously, even laid up in a hospital, he's pulling this crap?

"Why isn't Mr. Cullen hooked up to the monitor?" I asked coldly. The nurse's head flipped to me and paled. She flew off the bed and stammered. I dismissed it with a wave of my hand. "Never mind, I'll take over." I dropped the chart at the foot of the bed and pushed past the nurse, who stood frozen by the side. I looked over Edward's head at the monitor as I held my hand out for the wires. He held them just beyond my reach with a mischievous look on his face. My eyes snapped down to his. I had no time for this.

"I was just telling Nurse Stanley that I'd be _very_ embarrassed if my heart started beating fast in the presence of a beautiful lady, and everyone could hear it." Edward grinned up at me cheekily and I had the urge to smack the smile off his face. The nurse started giggling again, and I flipped around and glared. With another stammer, she excused herself and rushed out of the room. Edward looked on with an amused expression. "Are you always so territorial with your patients, Dr. Swan, or is it just with me?"

"I think you must've hit your head harder than we thought, Mr. Cullen." I snapped through gritted teeth. I snatched the wires from his hand and slapped the leads onto his chest, ignoring the way his hard muscles felt. Instantly, the sound of a steady heart beat filled the room. I picked up the chart and signed off at the bottom, before placing it back into the holder. "I'll send someone in a couple hours to check on you." I nodded at Emmett and then turned to leave.

"You're not going to keep me company, Dr. Swan?" Edward asked, placing an arm behind his head. He pouted. "I'll get lonely."

"What am I, dude?" Emmett exclaimed, bringing his hands out to showcase himself Vanna White style. Edward shook his head and grinned crookedly at me again. I pushed the fluttering in my heart aside once more. How dare he break out that smile? He crooked a finger at me again, motioning for me to come nearer. My body seemed to sway in his direction without me telling it to, but I snapped out of it before I could take a step.

"Please don't make me sedate you." I threatened and walked out, ignoring my intense desire to stay. I walked rapidly the break room and then slammed the door shut behind me. I leaned against the door and closed my eyes and tried to still my heart.

What was he doing to me?


	6. I Like My Sugar With Coffee and Cream

Author's Note: Man, I'm really cranking out chapters quickly these past few days. It's all because of the snow, so please don't think I'll always be updating like this (even though I may want to). Here's one of my longest chapter so far. I'm experimenting with my chapter breaks. Thank you for the reviews so far! I hope you enjoy this, and as always, please review and let me know what you think!

I may own a copy of Twilight, but I don't _own_ Twilight. I do own this story, though.

*******

I stayed hidden in the break room catching up on paperwork until 8am when my shift ended. I had refused to allow myself to think about Edward since I had last seen him three hours ago, though it didn't stop my hand from accidentally filing in a patient's sex as "Edward." Frustrated, I briefly considered walking out without checking up on him, but decided that I had to at least pretend to be professional when it came to him. Purely professional. My professionalism didn't prevent me, however, from washing my face and smoothing down my hair before I slowly made my way back to his room. I stood outside his door with my hand on the knob and contemplated my options. One, I could go in, be confident and breeze right out. Two, I could run like the devil himself was chasing me and get out of here. I didn't get to consider option three, as the door swung open suddenly, dragging me inside slightly.

"Oh!" I gasped, coming face to face the chief-of-staff. Dr. Cullen smiled kindly at me, his blue eyes piercing mine. I blushed slightly. Even though he was old enough to be my father, it was hard to ignore the fact that the chief was incredibly good looking. His blond hair was unusually messy today, as if he had been running his fingers through it. He shut the door behind him and faced me.

"Dr. Swan, how are you?" He asked with his slight British accent. Though I had been at this hospital for two years now, I hadn't had much interaction with the chief-of-staff and I was pleasantly surprised that he remembered my name.

"I'm good, Dr. Cullen. I-I was just coming in to check on Mr. Cullen." I stuttered. The chief tilted his head to the side slightly and grinned, and I frowned as my tired brain began to pick up on something. Oh. Durf. How many Cullens can there possibly be in Seattle? Why else would the chief come down and personally check up on someone? Silly Bella. "He's your son, isn't he?" I blurted out. The chief laughed quietly at my epiphany.

"Yes, he's my youngest son. It was quite a surprise to get a call from the hospital telling me he was here." He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. So that's where Edward had gotten that habit from. "As much of a shock that was, I'm glad to see that he's alright and in capable hands."

"Yes, Dr. Roberts is great." I said with a small nod. Even though he is a sadistic bastard, I muttered in my head. The chief smiled and shook his head.

"I meant you, Dr. Swan. Edward was telling me how you took good care of him," he said gently. My eyes widened slightly. He said that? Dr. Cullen paused and then a twinkle came into his eyes. "And Emmett was raving about how you put Edward in his place." My face turned scarlet at that and I opened my mouth and then shut it quickly as he continued. "You must be an excellent doctor if you can handle a patient like him."

"Uh…thank you, sir." I mumbled as he smiled once more and then left with a rustle of his white coat. I bewilderedly stared at his retreating form with a smile growing on my face. The chief-of-freakin-staff had just told me I was an excellent doctor! I basked in the glow of that compliment momentarily, before I remembered where I was. I snapped my head back to the door. Surely there was no point in me checking up on him now that his father had done so…

I took a deep breath and pushed open the door. Edward was asleep on the bed, with his long limbs twisted in the white sheets. I walked quietly towards the bed and picked up his chart. Jotting down the vitals displayed on the monitor, I took the opportunity to examine him more. His relaxed face looked cherubic even in the harsh hospital light. His chest rose slowly with each breath, and every so often his nose would twitch, as if he had an itch. I felt my face slide into a small smile as I watched him sleep. He was so beautiful.

"Pretty, ain't he?" Emmett's hushed voice startled me. I squeaked and turned towards the corner where I saw his large form folded into the small chair. His handsome face grinned knowingly at me, and I put my hand up to my chest.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" I exclaimed, closing the chart and placing it at the foot of his bed. I was morbidly embarrassed that he had caught me ogling his brother.

"Good thing we're at a hospital," He joked and I couldn't help joining in on his smile despite the red in my cheeks. He stood up slowly, his joints creaking, and came over to where I was standing. "Thanks for everything, Doc. I really mean it."

"Call me Bella," I offered. Emmett smiled and nodded, and I noticed the bags under his eyes. "You know that he's going to be in here for at least another five hours, right? You should go home and get some rest." He shook his head stubbornly. My heart went out to him and his big brother loyalties. I hesitated and then asked, "Well, why don't you come with me and my friends to get some coffee? My shift ended five minutes ago, and I need some serious caffeine to keep me awake for the drive home. You could use the fresh air and I'm sure Edward won't mind." My lips felt odd saying Edward's name aloud for the first time. It felt… nice. As if on cue, Sleeping Beauty stirred on the bed and looked at us bleary eyed.

"Go on, Em. I won't go anywhere," he said in a husky voice that made my spine tingle. "At least one of us should get to know how Bella likes her coffee in the mornings." he grinned crookedly and winked at me. My face went red again – didn't it ever get tired of doing that? – and I rolled my eyes as a cover up.

"I never said you could call me by my first name, Mr. Cullen," I cleared my throat and grabbed the chart from his bed. "Plus, it's a little rude to eavesdrop, don't you think?"

"You're the one watching me sleep, sweetheart." He shot back with a smirk.

"Don't flatter yourself," I scoffed and busied myself with writing orders for the nurses. "I'm just checking to see that you don't have a concussion." He snorted, and my eyes flashed up at him again. "As if anything could get through that thick skull of yours."

Emmett looked on, entertained, and agreed to go for a quick cup of coffee. I took one last look at his brother before I excused myself from the room. Edward's eyes locked onto mine. There was an intensity in that gaze, something deep and yearning, that made my stomach churn, and I quickly lowered my eyelashes and broke the connection.

*****

I hurried to my locker and grabbed my jacket and phone. I dialed Alice's number for my daily wakeup call for her. For two years now, every time I had a night shift I would call her and Rosalie and we would meet up for coffee before they headed to work and I drove home. It was a nice familiar tradition, and it always gave me a way to calm down after a hectic night at the hospital. Alice picked up after several rings and greeted me with a croaky groan.

"What?" she mumbled into the phone. I laughed, accustomed to her early morning greetings. As chipper as she was normally, Alice was surprisingly not a morning person. It took copious amounts of coffee to get her up to her normal hyper state. I had learned that the hard way early on in our first year as roommates in college.

"Good morning, sunshine!" I sang into the phone and was rewarded by another groan. "Come on, rise and shine. I've got lots to tell you today."

"No." she huffed and I could hear the rustle of her sheets as she sank her face back into the mattress. I grinned and broke out the secret weapon.

"It's about a guy." I said in a bored tone. I mentally counted off. Three….two…

"What?" Alice exclaimed, and then I heard a bang and static. "Sorry, I dropped the phone. I'll be there in twenty!" She said before she hung up. I shook my head at my crazy friend, always eager for information about me and guys. I quickly called Rosalie and got a much brighter response, as she normally was up before 8am anyway. With that, I went back to Edward's room and found Emmett waiting for me in the hallway. He grinned at me and pointed to his feet.

"Do you think anyone will notice I'm wearing two different shoes?" I looked at his Snoopy pants and his dress shirt and reassured him that no one would even notice.

*****

The walk to the coffee shop was quick and comfortable. We made small talk for a bit, but by the time that we reached the shop, Emmett had me in stitches from all the different jokes he was telling me. It was like hanging out with an older brother or a big cuddly best friend. It had been a long time since I'd had someone like that in my life, and I enjoyed it. With a bell announcing our presence, we walked in and immediately headed to the counter. I easily spotted Alice sitting at a small table towards the back. Not many people dare to wear hot pick and black checkered pea coats. I waved and she waved back with a questioning look in her eyes as she took in the giant man standing next to me dressed in a strange ensemble.

We had barely sat down with our coffees when Alice pounced.

"Hi, I'm Alice!" she said cheerfully, sticking out her hand for Emmett to shake. I noticed with some amusement that there was already an empty cup sitting next to her. Clearly the pixie was chugging espressos like there was no tomorrow.

"I'm Emmett," he grinned, shaking her hand with enthusiasm. Alice's eyes danced between Emmett and me, until I shook my head at her. She pouted slightly. Emmett looked on with delight. "I'm the brother of one Bella's patients." He explained, and Alice nodded slowly, clearly wondering what the big news had been about.

"Don't you want to know who the patient is, Alice?" I asked, taking a long sip of my coffee. She perked up again and leaned forward expectantly. "Does this look familiar?" I asked, and pantomimed throwing a drink in someone's face. Alice shook her head slowly until something clicked. I could almost see the light bulb lighting up above her head.

"NO WAY!" She screamed, much to my embarrassment and Emmett's enjoyment. A couple of patrons looked our way and then buried their noses back into their newspapers. "Seriously, the guy from the bar?" she asked in a slightly lower voice. I nodded, and Emmett and I filled her in on what had happened. Watching Alice's face was like watching a movie unfold. Her eyes narrowed when she heard about Dr. Roberts, then lit up when we mentioned Edward, and then –good God- teared up slightly when we told her how he got in an accident. Throughout the story, though, Alice shot little sly glances my way, as if she knew there was something else there that I wasn't mentioning. I silently pleaded with her to let it go, and she seemed to get the message.

We were all sitting back, laughing about how Emmett had dressed in the dark to drive to the hospital when I felt him stiffen next to me. I turned to look at him, and saw that his eyes were fixed towards the door. I looked around him and saw that he was staring at Rosalie. She was standing at the counter, oblivious to the fact that half the men in the shop were mentally taking off her sleek black pants and clinging red turtleneck. I glanced back at Emmett and noticed, though, that his eyes had a different expression in them. He was…enamored. Alice nudged me from under the table and we shared a look. Before I could say anything to him, though, Emmett stood up and strode towards the counter. He was a man on a mission. I groaned internally, hoping that Rosalie wouldn't tear him to shreds like most of the men who approached her. I actually liked this guy and wanted to be friends with him.

He stood next to her and spoke in a voice loud enough for us to hear. I noticed that Rosalie remained facing forward, her manicured nails tapping lightly on the counter as she waited for her order.

"Hi, my name is Emmett," he said, his voice slightly lower than before. "I just wanted you to know that you took my breath away from the moment you walked in." Alice raised her eyebrows and nodded approvingly at his statement while I crumpled my napkin nervously. Rosalie sneered.

"Right. Like I haven't heard that one before." She tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder and kept tapping her nails.

"Maybe so, but I mean it from the bottom of my soul." Emmett said smoothly, beckoning her to look him in the eyes. I heard Alice go "awww" and silently willed Rosalie to look at Emmett.

"Spoken like such a _nice_ guy." Rosalie spoke through gritted teeth, clearly in disbelief of his intentions.

"Not everyone's a bad guy." He said gently, still looking at her with an adoring look on his face.

"Perhaps, but most men are just wolves in sheep's clothing." Rosalie stated in a slightly less harsh tone as she accepted her drink, her eyes still not looking at him. Emmett ran his hand through his hair.

"Maybe some of us are sheep in wolf's clothing." He smiled his dimpled grin.

"Maybe…" Rosalie rolled her eyes and started to speak while turning to face him. A strange look came over her face and her mouth shut. Her eyes lingered on his smiling face before they dropped down to his clothing. Her eyebrow quirked up as she took in the Snoopy pants and the dress shirt. Alice clutched my arm, her nails digging into my skin, as we saw Rosalie's lips tremble into a small smile. "Maybe you're a sheep in … Snoopy's clothing?" She asked, her voice trailing off in amusement. Emmett blushed and laughed jovially.

"It's a long story, if you'd like to hear it. I was just laughing about it with my friends over there," He said, pointing at Alice and me. We both shot Rosalie a thumbs up when her eyes flickered towards us. Her smile grew a little bit larger. "Would you like join us?" I could feel Alice positively vibrating from across me. We both waited with baited breath.

"Okay." Rosalie agreed quietly and then held out her hand to him. He eagerly took it in between both of his. "I'm Rosalie Hale."

"And I'm Emmett Cullen." He smiled and they both stood there for a moment, staring at each other before they walked over to our table. Emmett was practically bursting at the seams with pride. "Ladies, I'd like you to meet - -"

"Rosalie!" Alice blurted out and clapped her hands. Emmett looked back and forth between us to Rosalie and then grinned. "You could've saved yourself the agony, Emmett, and waited for us to introduce you."

"Maybe, but I think I like the way this worked out more." He beamed, as Rosalie blushed slightly and took a large sip of her latte. I know she was thinking that this was very un-Rosalie behavior, to actually accept a guy's offer.

As we all sat down around the table and filled in Rosalie about the night that occurred, I caught myself staring at the blossoming couple in front of me. Sure, there was no way that Rosalie would admit to even liking Emmett at this point, despite her actions, but it was clearly obvious to Alice and me. She seemed radiant in front of him, and she couldn't stop laughing at his stories. It was like a new Rosalie had made an appearance in the last ten minutes, and it was all brought out by Emmett. He seemed to be able to maneuver well around the prickles that usually surrounded her. Whenever he would say something that made her raise an eyebrow and purse her lips in disagreement, he would shoot her a dimply smile, and she would instantly relax. It was wonderful seeing my friend like this, though it made me yearn for it for myself. My thoughts kept flying back to exam room 3 where a very arrogant yet charming patient was lying asleep. He probably had his hair tousled over his forehead once more, and his feet were probably sticking out from underneath the blankets.

There was no point to this train of thought, though. He'd be discharged before I got there tonight and I probably wouldn't see him again.

Not that I cared, of course. Not that it bothered me one bit.


	7. A Sorta Fairytale

Author's Note: Hi guys! It took me a little while to finish this chapter, but it's finally done. I wrote the middle section following my outline, and then Alice stole my story and ran with it in the opposite direction! I tried to fight it at first, and pulled it back on track…but the little pixie refused to let me have my way. In the end, I gave in to her. Seriously, why bet again Alice, right?

Does that ever happen to you guys? Do your characters steal your story and refuse to do things you want them to do?

Please read and review! I'm so pleased that people are reading my story, so just let me know what you think and if you like the way it's going.

Twilight isn't mine. The idea for the story is mine, though apparently Alice tells me what to do.

***********

Less than ten hours later, I was striding through the halls of the hospital once again. I had managed to arrive five minutes early for my shift, which was nothing short of a miracle considering the state I was in. We had all spent more time than usual at the coffee shop, laughing hysterically at Emmett's jokes and tales of his antics before Rosalie had realized that she was late for work. It had been easy to tell from the look on her face that she was hesitant to leave, so Alice and I had slunk away, leaving the couple to exchange information away from our prying ears. While having coffee with everyone had been the most fun I had had in a long while, that extra time had seriously cut into my sleep. I had driven home slowly, awake only by the grace of the caffeine gods and my open windows. I had barely made it into bed before I passed out from exhaustion, only to be woken up way too soon by my alarm clock.

I walked into the locker room with an odd feeling in my stomach. Being a doctor, I always prided myself that I could identify the cause of most physical ailments in a person. I always stopped at self-diagnosing myself, though, knowing that hypochondria was the curse of being in the medical field. I learned my lesson really early on, after practically going into hysterics thinking I had a blood-borne illness during my second year of med school. Still, I couldn't help but run through possible diagnoses while I changed into my scrubs.

Deep abdominal pains? I discretely palpated my stomach. Was that tender? Could be appendicitis.

Burning sensation in the gut? Maybe an ulcer. Oh, God, I hoped I didn't have an ulcer…

Someone slammed a locker near mine, and my head snapped up. What the hell was I doing? I didn't have appendicitis or an ulcer. This was different. It was sort of like… that nervous feeling that you get deep in the pits of your stomach when you have get up and give a speech in public. Or maybe that uneasiness that you get when you're anticipating something bad. Whatever it was, it was annoying. I popped a Tums in my mouth and made a face at the chalky flavor. I prescribe this crap?

I slid on my white coat and got ready for rounds, eager to shove my early appearance in Roberts' face. Angela, one of my fellow residents, smiled at me as I passed her in the doorway of the locker room. She was one of the few people I got along with at work, the others being far too preoccupied with being cutthroat and scoring the best patients – that is, the ones that had missing limbs and organs, or had some sort of funky tropical disease that could magically cause them to spontaneously combust. I didn't like that whole game, it wasn't what I had gone into medicine for, and usually avoided the confrontations that ensued as doctors fought and bartered for cases. Angela was different, and I genuinely liked her as a person. We had gone out for dinner and drinks after our early shifts a few times, and I had seen myself forming a friendship with her easily. Then the whole mess with Jake had started and I had shut myself down from most contact. At first I had been alone because I couldn't handle being with others and having them ask me about what I felt and how I was coping and all that usual breakup crap. Then, slowly, my self-imposed solitude had become a thing of comfort, something I could rely on. I knew I could trust Alice and Rosalie with my life, but beyond that, what proof did I have that people would always be there? Boyfriends and friendships come and go, so why bother with it all? Maybe it had made me seem like a cynical woman, but I had felt it was better to be prepared than to be hurt. Sometimes I had felt a little guilty about turning down Angela's shy invitations, especially as they dwindled in number as she got the hint that I preferred to be left alone. Still, it had been better that way. It had been easier.

When Angela smiled at me today, though, something whirred in my brain. I was making friends with Emmett, wasn't I? I wasn't exactly sure if he considered me one yet, but the giant grins that he and Rosalie had shared today clued me in that he was probably going to be around a lot. Maybe enough for us to become friends. And for some reason, I trusted him. I really had no reason to, but there was something about him that made me like and trust him. Feeling a little emboldened by the very idea of a budding friendship, I stopped mid-step and exchanged a few pleasantries with Angela in the doorway. I wasn't sure why I did it, but it felt right to chat with her. She seemed a little surprised, but hid it well, and we shared a small laugh before she told me to hurry to rounds before Dr. Roberts got on my ass again.

I mulled over my actions as I walked down the stairs, my fingers distractedly playing with my stethoscope. Without thinking, I walked down a hallway and found my feet leading me towards Edward's room. I tried to stop myself, but my mind and body acted as two separate entities and I was soon standing unwillingly in front of his door. There were shuffling noises coming from inside, and the slight bounce of the bed. He was probably getting ready to leave right now, maybe signing his discharge papers. My brain perversely wondered if he had tied the hospital gown completely at the back. Bracing myself for whatever new confrontation we could have, I opened the door.

He was gone.

The bed was empty, stripped of its sheets. The cleaning lady stared at me questioningly as she piled the linens onto her cart. I quickly rearranged my face into its usual blank, complacent doctor look and shut the door.

Just as I expcted, and just as I wanted.

So why was that feeling in my stomach worse now?

I popped another Tums and ran to rounds before I could think about it any more.

******************

My shift flew by in a blur of patients, and I soon found myself sitting drowsily across from a disgustingly chipper Alice. She was babbling about something, her hands fluttering around excitedly, as she stole sips from her double shot espresso. She reminded me of a little hummingbird, practically lifting off her seat as her hand gestures became more like flapping wings. I stifled a delirious laugh, and bit off a chunk of my corn muffin. As I chewed, I realized she had stopped talking and was looking at me expectantly.

"Well?" she asked, frowning slightly. I swallowed my muffin and tried to think rapidly back to what she was saying. All I could remember hearing sounded oddly like the sounds the adults made on Charlie Brown shows. I doubted Alice would appreciate me saying I heard "wha wha wha" trombone sounds. "Bella, what do you think?"

"Uh…yes?" My answer sounded more like a question. Alice rolled her eyes and grabbed a flyer from who knows where and held it up two inches from my face. I backed my face up and snatched it from her hands.

**THE COFFEE POT WILL BE UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT BEGINNING NEXT MONTH**

I shrugged and drank some of my coffee. Coffee was coffee, no? Alice clicked her tongue exasperatedly and pointed towards the small print at the bottom. It said some corporation name. Again, I didn't see the big issue here.

"Bella, those are the people who own that horrible southern themed restaurant downtown! The one with the giant rooster out front!" Alice shrilled, wringing her hands.

Still see no problem.

"That means that they're going to take all this down!" Alice cried out, pointing at the thick purple drapes and plush golden couches that we were sitting on, the very ones that she constantly raved about because they were made by so-and-so designer. Ever since Alice had started her own boutique two years ago, she had immersed herself in the world of fashion, something that I had absolutely no interest in. While I knew that some people perceived her to be just a ditzy fashion fiend because of her enthusiastic way of expressing herself, she hadn't gotten to where she was just by knowing how to shop. In fact, Alice barely had time to shop any more and disliked any unnecessary expenses that deterred her from putting money into her business. She had a great head on her shoulders and was probably one of the smartest women I knew, simultaneously earning her MBA and starting her shop. Alice didn't want to just design clothes, she wanted to create an empire, as she often said, and that meant being in control of every single aspect of her business, as well as knowing her competition. I was proud of my little pixie, though at times I was ready to throttle her for making me wear decidedly un-Bella-like clothing.

"Well, so what's wrong with a little change? I thought you were in favor of constant renovations?" I asked, teasing her slightly for the way she would constantly change the color on her bedroom walls to suit her mood. Excessive in my mind; necessary in hers.

Alice rolled her eyes. "That's a low blow, Bella. Plus, think about it! A southern themed coffee shop? That means they're probably going to put up saddles and bacon and cotton and… and butter!" Alice groaned, tugging slightly on her short hair.

I laughed at the disgusted look on my friend's face. "Alice, I seriously doubt they'll be able to hammer butter into the walls." She made a face at me and took an indignant swig of her coffee. "Besides, what does it matter? Coffee is coffee no matter where you go."

"I am _not_ going to get coffee in a place that plays 'Sweet Home Alabama'," she said defiantly, crossing her arms. "That's a little too Paula Deen for me."

"You always choose 'Sweet Home Alabama' to play at Finnegan's." I reminded her.

"It's different,' Alice muttered in an embarrassed voice. "I like it when the cute boys dance to it." She glared when I burst into laugher.

"So we'll stop coming here then. That's a pretty easy problem to fix." I reasoned and sat back in my chair, thinking the issue was resolved. Alice leaned forward in her seat and pointed a finger at me.

"Think about what it'll do to this neighborhood! What other stores are going to pop up now? My shop is three blocks away, and soon when people ask for directions, I'll have to say, 'We're right past the coffee shop with the giant Confederate flag out front. If you see the giant ball of yarn or the stack of rims, you've gone too far!' How will that look for business?" Alice raised an eyebrow challenging me. I stifled another laugh. What a drama queen.

"It's not like you can do anything to stop this, Alice, so just go with it." I raised my cup to my lips, but paused when I saw the glint in her eyes. I knew that glint. It was the same look that she had when she had protested the dissections in biology and had released crates of frogs in the college pond. It was also the same look that got her nearly expelled and put on probation. This was not a good glint. "No. Oh God, no, Alice. Please don't do whatever it is that you're planning on doing."

Alice smiled widely, showing her straight white teeth. "I'm not planning on doing anything…yet."

I shut my eyes. This was really not good.

*********************************

The weeks passed by, and I was too immersed in my work and my daily coffee meetings with my friends to really think about Edward. Without any chance of ever seeing him again, I finally admitted to myself that while I was attracted – almost disgustingly so – to him physically, his behavior was a huge deterrent. Anytime my brain started wandering over to him, I quickly reeled it in. Just thinking about the arrogant look in his eyes or his smug smile was enough to get my mind back on track.

Emmett and Rosalie had gone out for dinner at least three times a week since they met, and apparently things seemed to be going so well that he joined us for coffee every so often. Between the sweet looks he would give Rosalie, and the way he would playfully tease Alice and me, I found myself developing a sisterly affection for him. I was so happy for my friend that I even agreed to one of Alice's "girl nights" – aka, an excuse to dig for details into Rosalie's love life. When we were in college, the nights had consisted of devouring pints of ice cream while watching sappy romance movies. Now that we were in our late twenties, the menu had changed to drinking ridiculous amounts of wine while watching cheesy movies with hot leading men.

"Okay, spill." Alice said bluntly, her eyes slightly glazed over as she stared Rosalie down. The three of us were draped over Alice's couches, our wine glasses dangerously dangling from our fingers. The three empty bottles of Riesling on her coffee table stared back at us proudly. Rosalie dragged her eyes away from "The Librarian," a cheesy Noah Wyle movie, and blushed uncharacteristically. Alice and I shared a glance. This had to be good

"What do you want to know?" Rosalie asked slowly, wary of Alice's attack.

Alice bounced in her seat and swiveled around to face Rosalie. "Everything!"

Rosalie hesitated and bit her lip. She looked back and forth between Alice and me and then burst into a cheesy smile, which she then futilely tried to hide with her hair. Laughing, I pried her hair away from her face. Rosalie looked at the two of us again and then blurted out, "He's amazing!" Alice squealed and pulled Rosalie into a giant hug while I clapped my hands in glee.

It felt good to act like a girl instead of a doctor.

The floodgates opened and Rosalie started rattling off every wonderful thing about Emmett. How he made her laugh, how he was sweet and kind, how he recognized that she was a woman and needed to be treated as such and not as a sex object. He knew what to say to calm her down, and when to leave her alone. She went on, waving her hands about, sloshing wine out of her glass, as she gushed about him.

Holy crap, Rosalie was _gushing_. Never in the nine years that I'd known her had I ever seen her act this way. Listening to her talk about Emmett and how she was too scared to admit that she was falling in love with him, made me wish I had that. Just an inkling of that. I could see from the way that Alice was sighing sweetly and clasping her hands together, that she wished for the same.

We all sat quietly after Rosalie ran out of steam, relieved that she had disclosed all of this to us. I took a slow sip of my wine and stared mindlessly at the TV again. I felt Alice's finger poke me repeatedly and snapped of my stupor. I put my glass down and swung my head around to look at her.

"What about you, Bella?" she asked, grinning at me expectantly.

I snorted. "What about me? I have nothing to tell." Alice's shoulders fell a little bit before she got that damn glint in her eye again. Oh, I knew what that meant! She opened her mouth and I leapt up from the couch a little unsteadily. "No, Alice! Absolutely not!"

"Please, just listen!" She pouted. I teetered on my feet and slowly sat down, giving in to her stupid pout. Alice flashed a big smile and then leaned towards me. Rosalie looked on with an amused look on her face. "Okay, so there's this guy who works for me who I think would be _perfect_ for you…"

"NO!" I cried out, covering my ears. She always had to do this. Every time I was single, Alice would try to fix me up. And every time, without fail, it was a complete disaster. She would always claim, though, that I hadn't given it my all and it wasn't her matchmaking skills that were sub par.

"Oh, come on, Bella!" Alice begged.

"Alice, he works in a boutique. Are you sure he's not gay?" I frowned at her, only to be met with an exasperated look on her face.

"Bella, not every man who works in fashion is gay!" Alice shook her head at me. I looked at Rosalie for help, but she was busy smothering her laughs. What a great help she was. "Seriously, if you aren't interested in anyone, why not give this guy a chance? He's great!" Alice exclaimed, putting her free hand on her hip. I opened my mouth to protest and then shut it with a click. She cocked her head to the side and gave me a scrutinizing look. "You aren't interested in anyone….right?"

"Of course not." I said, a little too fast. I felt the heat rushing into my cheeks. My muddled brain moved slowly. What the hell was that about? Leave it to the wine to get me confused between physical and emotional attraction. Rosalie and Alice both stared at me. I hoped they would chalk up my flush to the wine. "If he's so great, then why aren't you interested?" I quickly asked, hoping for a distraction.

Alice smiled with a far-away look in her eyes. "He's just not…the one." I burst out laughing and she shot me an annoyed look. "I mean it. I just…I have a vision of who I'm looking for and he's not it."

"And do you know who it is that you're looking for?" Rosalie said with a little smirk.

"Oh, I know I'll recognize him when I see him." Alice said cryptically. Rosalie and I made faces at each other at that. Of course Alice would say that. Our sophomore year of college, she went around consulting a Magic Eight Ball she got as a Secret Santa gift for every major decision. When most things worked out in her favor, she became convinced that she had a little bit of a knack for precognition. Neither of us ever had the heart to tell her that we thought it was all a bunch of BS.

"That is the biggest load of fairy tale crap I've ever heard." I muttered, taking another sip of wine.

"Not everyone is as jaded as you are, Bella." Alice snapped, coming out of her cloud. I rolled my eyes and swirled the contents of my glass. Alice softened her glare and then stuck out her lip once more. "Do this for me. I know it'll end well."

"That's what you said last time. And the time before that." I groaned, hoping I wouldn't get suckered into another blind date. Rosalie laughed, not needing a Magic Eight Ball to tell her the outcome of the situation.

"I really mean it this time. It feels right." Alice begged. I sighed deeply and weighed my options. Prospect of happily ever after….versus a horrible date? Alice batted her eyelashes at me, fully working the extent of her puppy dog eyes. My resolved weakened and I felt my head drop into a nod before I registered it.

"This is the last time ever, Alice. I mean it." I mumbled, before being caught into a giant hug.

I really hoped I wouldn't regret this.

….Were those famous last words, or what?

***************

Another Author's Note: Hopefully you guys like the direction the chapter took. The Southern Coffee Shop fiasco came out of nowhere (they were only supposed to meet for coffee), as did Alice's Magic Eight Ball induced fairy tale fantasies. Btw, I have nothing against Southerners, it just seemed as geographically and culturally far away from Seattle as possible.

Please review! Let me know if you liked it!


	8. They've Come to Snuff the Rooster

Author's Note: I lost half of this chapter when my computer decided to go nuts on me. I recreated it the best I could, so please review and let me know what you think!

Thanks for the reviews so far! It means a lot to know people read my work.

Twilight isn't mine, otherwise I could afford a new computer. This story is all mine though.

*******************

Alice wasted no time in setting me up with the guy from her shop, much to my dismay. She called me bright and far too early the next morning to tell me that the time and date had been set and all I had to do was show up. Before I could protest, she slyly told me that she had specifically chosen a date after my work schedule would be switched over to the day shift, and so my night was completely free. There went my argument.

A few days passed, and the three of us met for our last early morning coffee date for a month. I wasn't complaining, as my body had taken a serious beating after so many continuous twelve hour night shifts. I was ready to get my sleep cycle back on track, and welcomed the free nights. Rosalie and I shared a muffin at our usual table, waiting for Alice to arrive. It was unusual for her to be late, but I didn't question it as I used the time to formulate an escape plan for my date the next night. I was a doctor, after all, so couldn't I just use the "I had to perform life-saving emergency surgery" excuse? Or maybe the "I got stuck in the elevator with a pregnant woman and she went into early labor" one? My phone rang and interrupted my schemes.

"Look outside!" Alice trilled. I swung around and looked through The Coffee Pot's large windows. There, in all her cashmere glory, was Alice, a little red beret bopping on her head as she bounced on her heels. As if the sight of seeing Alice practically plastered against the window wasn't odd enough, the objects surrounding her were enough to make me let out a low groan.

Were those picket signs?

Alice waved excitedly at us, as if we could have any trouble locating her. Rosalie lifted her hand and weakly waved back. We exchanged a glance and then walked out slowly, ignoring the bewildered looks on people's faces.

"What do you think!" Alice pounced on us as soon we stepped outside. I stuck my hands in my sweatshirt pockets and stared in disbelief. Somehow, my deranged friend had managed to find the time to make at least a dozen large signs protesting the new coffee shop. They were black cardboard with bright neon pictures and words. The wooden sticks attached to the back had been painted black as well. They were flashy, yet neat.

Leave it to Alice to be a classy protestor.

"Is that…butter?" Rosalie asked, raising an eyebrow. I spotted a large glowing yellow blob on the front of one of the signs. Alice had drawn a bright pink 'no' sign across it.

"Yes!" Alice cried out, clapping her hands and jumping over to the sign in question. "I'm so glad you could tell what it was! It is so hard to draw a proper looking pat of butter." Rosalie blinked several times, but Alice bounced back before she could speak. "Check this one out! It's my favorite!" She held up a sign saying "We've come to snuff the rooster!" in bright green. There was even a little multicolored rooster to emphasize the point. I slapped a hand on my mouth before I let out a laugh. Alice had gone through a pseudo-grunge phase in college before she realized that it meant wearing flannel every day, not just on weekends. This sign was obviously a remnant of her listening to Alice in Chains. "So I was thinking, I'm gonna hold this one, and you guys can pick whichever ones you like. Just remember to be loud and passionate, and people will listen and join our cause!" Alice lifted her fist in the air triumphantly. She was like a little Che Guevara in heels.

"This is ridiculous, Alice," Rosalie scoffed, turning away the sign Alice was holding out to her. "I'm not going to hold a sign." Rosalie wrapped her red pashmina around herself and stared defiantly at Alice. The little pixie visibly deflated, but then turned her attentions to me.

She shoved a sign into my unwilling arms. "It's only going to be for a couple days, Rose. Or at most, a couple weeks, and then they'll _have_ to give in to our demands." I whimpered. A couple weeks? What was she thinking? She actually thought we would stand outside this coffee shop every day holding these signs? This seemed like a stunt right out of I Love Lucy. Next thing I knew, she'd have me shoving chocolates down my blouse.

"You're out of your mind. This is the stupidest idea you've come up with." Rosalie crossed her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes at Alice. A couple walking by us stopped and laughed at Alice's signs, and Rosalie shot a glare at them. It was one thing for her to make fun of Alice, but completely another for outsiders to mock. Alice pouted.

I sighed and tried to calm both my friends down. "I think what Rose is trying to say is that there has to be a better way to deal with all this than forming a picket line. Don't you think this is a bit extreme? It's only a coffee shop." I tried to reason with her, but Alice glared at me instead.

Frowning, she opened her mouth but was interrupted by her cell phone. "Hold this a second, Bella." She growled, as she pushed her own sign into my arms and turned around to dig through her giant purse. I let out a yelp as the sign slipped through my already full arms. A gloved hand shot out inches from my nose and steadied the sign.

"That's a good song," A husky low voice drawled. My ears perked up at the accent, and my eyes followed the hand up to a pair of bright blue eyes peering at me from a dangerously handsome face. While my brain managed to register that he wasn't quite as handsome as Edward – wait, what? – he was at least one of the handsomest men I'd laid my eyes on. He had those classic All-American features: a straight nose, chiseled jaw, long eyelashes and a tall frame to balance it out. He had a winter hat pulled low on his head and a ski jacket with the collar turned up, but I could spot strands of golden blond hair peeking through. His cheeks was rosy and he seemed like he wasn't used to this cold, as we were all standing around in sweaters and light jackets without feeling the chill. I blushed and gripped my signs tighter. "I like Alice in Chains."

"What about me?" Alice muttered distractedly from a few feet away, her cell phone gripped loosely between her chin and her shoulder. She was facing slightly away from us, her hands rifling through her purse for something else as she barked commands. The man's eyes followed her movements.

"Her name is Alice," Rosalie explained. Then she grinned slyly and added, "She likes being in chains too." Rosalie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at the man. I gaped at her. Pervert. I smacked her shoulder.

The man's face broke out in a lazy grin as he played along. "You've gotta love an adventurous lady." His sexy drawl made his words sound even better. Rosalie's eyebrow shot up in surprise. His eyes shot to Alice again, before smiling at Rosalie and me. "Good luck with the signs, ladies." He said in an amused tone, before nodding at us and stepping into the coffee shop.

"I can't believe you said that, Rose!" I turned to her as soon as he was out of earshot.

Rosalie rolled her eyes at me. "Don't be such a prude, Bella." I scowled. I hated when she called me a prude. "I like screwing with men's heads." She smiled devilishly. "That guy was a surprise, though. I thought Southern boys were supposed to be polite and crap, not kinky." Alice let out a shriek and turned to us with a snap of her phone. She was clutching her PDA in a death grip.

"I gotta go, guys. My secretary just told me that they mixed up two deliveries. They're sending a suit to a wedding, and a wedding dress to a wake!" She cried out, furiously snatching her signs and hurrying to her car. Rose and I followed, grabbing the signs that were falling out of her hands.

"Why would you even be delivering to a wake in the first place?" I questioned, as I helped Alice stick signs in her trunk.

"If you're going to spend all of eternity under ground, Bella, wouldn't you want to look good?" Alice looked at me like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I shook my head at her logic. How could I even argue with that? We waved goodbye to her as she sped out of her parking spot, only to slam on the brakes and race back to where we were. She rolled down her window and shouted, "Don't think you're getting out of this date tomorrow night, Dr. Swan! I'll be at your place at seven!" I glowered at her car as she raced away once more.

Sometimes I wondered if she really was psychic.

*****************************

Eight o'clock the next day rolled around and I was sitting in an uncomfortable high circular chair waiting for my date. We were meeting at one of those odd trendy restaurants, the type that like to serve frozen seaweed and weird crap like that for ridiculous prices. I clicked my heels against the chrome chair legs, fighting the urge to run before this guy got in the door. The waitress, who probably doubled as a model, shot me a look, and I stopped my clicking. I rolled my eyes. As if she could hear me over the blasting techno music. I pulled on my cardigan sleeves uncomfortably, for the fifth time that night wishing I hadn't refused Alice's help with getting dressed. I felt like a fish out of water here amongst the beautiful people. At least it was dim in here and I could attempt to blend in.

"Hi, you must be Bella." A voice shouted in my ear. I shrieked and nearly fell out of my chair. "Oops! Sorry about that!" I turned and looked at my date. He was pleasant looking, with blond spiky hair and cheerful eyes. He had on a bright blue tailored shirt with some design above the chest and down the side, and a pair of inky dark jeans. I wasn't really a fashionista but I could tell they were stylish. "I'm Mike."

I managed to crack a small smile and stuck my hand out for him. "Nice to meet you." He shook my hand and then grinned at me as he tried to maneuver himself into the chair. He sort of swung himself up into it, and I hid my smile. Not very graceful. His eyes furtively studied me, but he had the decency to flush when I caught him looking.

"I hope you haven't been waiting here long," He half-yelled across the table, picking up the piece of aluminum that served as a menu. I shook my head instead of trying to make myself heard and we attempted to make small talk as we scanned the list. It was hard to hear each other over the loud music and we had to resort to hand gestures a few times.

I needed a beer and fast.

"Is that Chloe?" He shouted, leaning towards me. I whipped my head around to look behind me. Huh? "No, no!" His fingers caught my arm and I jerked away immediately. "Is _this _Chloe?" He pointed towards my sweater sleeve.

Oh. He meant the designer. I could definitely say I'd never been asked that by a man before.

I shrugged. "Maybe? I don't know. Alice gave it to me. I usually buy my sweaters at Target," I didn't miss the slight shudder that went through him at this. "But she said this one was made out of baby something or other. Baby lamb? Virgin lamb? I don't know..." I trailed off, realizing I had lost my audience.

Drinks arrived quickly, thankfully, and I concentrated on chugging my beer as quickly as possible. Mike talked on, or rather shouted. Soon we settled into a comfortable rhythm of him pantomiming and shouting and me nodding and sipping my beer. Three drinks later and I had a good buzz going.

Mike shifted in his chair at one point and crossed his legs, settling into a more comfortable position. My eyes caught on his shoes, partially hidden underneath his dark jeans. Wait a second…

Were those Uggs?

I thought only girls wore those boots? I was so caught up in analyzing his boots that I didn't realize that he was talking to me. I tore my eyes away from the shoes in question and forced an interested smile on my face.

Mike followed my previous line of sight and then laughed. "Do you like them? I got them for like half off last week. Isn't that crazy?" My eyebrows raised on their own accord. "I know, I couldn't believe it either. These are the new model that's only available in Australia."

I floundered for words. "Uh…I didn't know that men wore Uggs too." I stated bluntly.

Mike laughed and raised his jeans so he could show me the finer details of his boots. My ears strained to hear what he was saying, but the entire time I watched him stroke his boots and point towards the soles and seams that differentiated them from women's boots, I started having an epiphany. Nicely done, Alice. No wonder she thought he was so freakin great.

She fixed me up with a male version of herself.

I drank another beer quietly, contemplating ways to get back at Alice. Mike didn't seem to notice as he ate his forty dollar steak on a stick with gusto.

Sometime before dessert arrived, Mike leaned towards me and motioned for me to come closer. I teetered cautiously towards him, grabbing onto the edge of the table for balance. His breath smelled minty like the little mojitos he was drinking.

"Look, Bella. You're a nice girl and I have be honest with you. I like you," Mike smiled warmly at me. I stared back expressionlessly. My beer-soaked brain tried to proces that. Were we even on the same date? "But just as friends."

I perked up immediately. "I know exactly what you mean, Mike." I said in a rush. "We're just not compatible as something more."

"Definitely. I totally want to be friends with you, but you're sort of not my type. I'm sorry." He said in an apologetic tone.

"Believe me, it's quite okay. You're _really_ not my type either." I blurted out. My cheeks turned red. Maybe that was a bit harsh.

He laughed and shook his head at me. "It's alright. I mean, come on. You didn't know that Chanel made more than one perfume?" He teased, poking me with a finger. I laughed and poked him back, fully relaxed now that I didn't have to pretend to be interested.

"I thought it was called No. 5 because it was the fifth successful formula! Kinda like how WD-40 was named?" Mike looked confused, and I shook my head in dismissal. He was clearly not that type of guy.

We waited for dessert in a much lighter atmosphere as we teased back and forth about what the other person didn't know. He joked about my lack of taste in clothing – apparently a black cardigan is giant 'no' when it comes to first dates, something about conjuring up images of a man's strict mother. I found it hilarious that he hated beer. He nearly gagged when he took a sip of mine, to my great amusement. So maybe Alice was horrible at romantic fix-ups, but at least it seemed like I was going to get a decidedly platonic, slightly flamboyant metrosexual friend out of this date. That was okay with me.

The waitress arrived with the dessert, an array of syringes full of fruity foam. I cocked an eyebrow at them and raised my head to question Mike about them, when my eyes caught on a flash of bronze from across the room. I trailed the color beyond people's heads and bodies until it was by the bar.

It was him.

He was standing, leaning against the chrome bar, scanning the room with an amused smirk on his face. That damn smirk. He was dressed in a dark green dress shirt, the ends carelessly untucked and hanging above the softest, most worn looking pair of jeans I'd seen here tonight. He too looked like he didn't quite belong among this flashy crowd, yet unlike me, he didn't give a damn. I wondered what he was doing here tonight, if he was on a date or just on the prowl. The girl behind the bar came up to him with his bottle of beer and he grinned at her widely, stunning her momentarily. She shook herself out of it and then flipped her hair, leaning forward to talk to him. He turned away, though, uninterested and turned back towards the tables. Before I could contemplate this fully, his head turned and his eyes locked onto mine.

My heart stopped.

He looked surprised to see me here, that much was obvious by the way his eyebrows jumped an inch and his face broke into a little smile. Not a smirk. Just a regular smile. He hid it well quickly enough, though, as his genuine smile slid into the crooked, cocky smile that slowly filled his face. God, that smile was pure sex. My face was turning crimson, I was sure, and I was glad at last for the lack of lighting in the restaurant. Our eyes refused to unlock. Crap. Was I supposed to smile back now? Couldn't we just keep having eye sex and be done with it? My lungs burned and I was shocked to realize that I'd forgotten to breathe. Discretely gasping for breath, I gazed back at him. He seemed amused, though not surprised, at my reaction, and I felt my face scrunching up into a scowl. Of course. That was what he expected. He expected to smile and have me fall at his feet, much like the bartender. He probably didn't even care that I was here with somebody. He was only after conquests. I shifted my gaze away.

Sure, it was tempting to jump him every time I saw him, but the only way it would work out is if he were to never talk again. Ever.

I started to wallow in my thoughts before I remembered that I was sitting across from Mike, who was happily injecting his foamy dessert into his mouth.

"Here, try this!" He licked his lips and plunged a syringe into my mouth. Sweet, coconut flavored foam filled my mouth. It was surprisingly good and intense. "Oh, you have some on your face." He scooped a bit of coconut foam off my cheek and then licked it off his fingers.

"Ew, dude!" I laughed and wiped my face off with a napkin.

"You can't waste this crap. It's twenty dollars a pop." Mike shouted in his defense and I smiled. He really reminded me of Alice. My eyes flickered over to the bar again, prepared to see Edward giving me some cocky 'what, you can't eat without making a mess' look.

Instead, I was shocked.

Cold green eyes met my gaze. He was glaring at me, his beautiful face frowning in my direction. I shivered slightly. Our waitress came at that moment to pick up the plate, blocking me from his view. What was that about? He looked like I had stabbed him with a syringe. I waited impatiently as the waitress moved away, promising our check, and looked for him again.

He was gone.

A part of me wasn't surprised to see him gone. I shook my muddled head to clear it and wondered what I had done wrong…and why I even cared.

*****************

Author's Note #2 - So I hope it's getting clearer why I went with the Southern themed coffee shop? I couldn't really spell it out, so sorry if anyone got a little annoyed or offended by Alice's distaste for all things south of Seattle. Also, I really did see a middle aged man wearing Uggs at Grand Central this week, and I did a little research to see if there really were men's boots. As soon as I saw them, I thought "Gasp! That's for my Mike Newton!" I always thought he was a cool guy for sticking around Bella during her dark days, and I never saw him as a real threat unlike Jacob, so I wanted to write about in a way that made him a completely platonic friend for her.

Please review! Reviews are awesome!


	9. Stitching up the Pieces

Author's Note: Hi everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews. It's so great getting feedback about my story. Here's the next chapter...

I think everyone knows who owns Twilight. It isn't me. But I do own this story.

**********************************************

I called Alice on my way home and spent the entire fifteen minute cab ride sloppily listing everything that was wrong with her choice for my date. By the time I got home, Alice had apologized profusely several times over and had promised to make it up to me by taking me out to Finnegan's the following night. I got out of the cab in a tangle of legs, still disgruntled, and feeling embarrassed by the way the cab driver sped off with a deep belly laugh. It was wonderful knowing my bad luck made others happy.

The next morning I woke up with a pounding headache, cursing myself for going out on a Thursday night. I dragged myself into the shower and stood with my head against the tiles, desperately wishing that the previous night had been a dream. While hanging out with Mike had been fun after the initial horror of our date had worn off, I hadn't been able to get Edward's angry stare out of my head. It was haunting, particularly because I couldn't decipher it. He had acted like I had gone out of my way to insult him, which was absurd considering he was the one staring over at me during my date. Wasn't that breaking some sort of man code? Making sex eyes at someone else's date? Worst of all, I couldn't come up with a solid reason for why it bothered me that he was upset.

I was lost in my thoughts the entire morning as I shuffled lifelessly through the halls of the hospital. My brain was still in a slight haze from the beers last night, but most of all, my thoughts kept circling back to Edward. I tried fighting it at first, as I was completely humiliated when I accidentally called a patient "Mr. Edward" but then I gave in to my worries. I sat in the corner of the dark locker room and played everything out in my head until it was time for rounds. I was still no closer to an answer than I had been when I woke up, but I was frustrated beyond all belief that I had spent so much time analyzing him and his asinine behavior.

I sulked in the back of the line of doctors who filed into the last exam room. Mindlessly I took notes about the patient. I had been pretty much following along aimlessly during rounds and I was hoping that no one had noticed. I heard Dr. Roberts call my name and my head snapped up. He stared at me, bored with my silence.

Crap. Not again. What did he say?

"I'm sorry, sir?" I asked, my neck feeling hot.

He rolled his eyes and asked his question again. "I'll try not to bore you, Dr. Swan. Do you know the proper procedure to follow with this patient?"

I quickly scanned the notes I had taken down. To my growing dismay, I realized that all I had written down were the patient's name and age, and two symptoms. The rest of the page was full of doodles of eyes.

Are you serious?

My face grew increasingly hot as my tired mind tried furiously to switch gears. "Uh…" I mumbled while I racked my brain. They said something about chest pains before, right? "I think the patient needs to be hooked up to an EKG and monitored for a few hours." I rattled off a few tests that I thought should be run as well. I waited for Dr. Roberts' answer as my heart beat loudly in my ears.

"You think?" Dr. Roberts looked at me over his glasses. I frowned. What? The room seemed eerily silent as fourteen other pairs of eyes turned to look at me.

"Yes, sir." I answered, confused.

He sighed, and crossed his arms. His little eyes bore into mine. "You think, Dr. Swan, or you know?" A groan threatened to escape my lips. I couldn't believe I'd gotten myself trapped like that. "A good doctor always knows." My eyes fell and my cheeks turned crimson. He made a clucking sound with his mouth as I stayed silent. Dr. Roberts turned his gaze to Angela, who was standing on my left. "Dr. Weber, do _you_ know the answer?"

Angela slid her eyes over to me apologetically. "The patient does need to be hooked up to an EKG, as Dr. Swan said. We should also run those tests." It didn't escape my notice that she gave me credit for the right answer. Dr. Roberts nodded his head and motioned for us to follow him out. She gave me a small smile when Dr. Roberts looked away, and I returned it. It wasn't her fault I had my mind preoccupied.

"Dr. Swan," Dr. Roberts called out as I attempted to slink away with the other doctors. I grimaced and swiveled around to face him. "Why don't you take the suture room today?" I nodded slowly, disappointed. Another crap assignment. He shook his head at me and then walked away, his coat flapping behind him.

I checked my watch quickly before I dragged my feet to the suture room. Only five more hours to go.

***********************************

The five hours passed slowly, tediously and almost painfully. The suture room was one of the worst assignments to be given, as it meant sitting around for hours on end, stitching up moaning, idiotic patients. I had to deal with a couple bikers who smashed beer bottles over each others' heads, a man who hit a jar of pickles against a countertop to open it, and a woman who had walked into a door while putting on makeup, just to name a few. Really, we were talking about the crème de la crème here.

I was counting down the minutes until my shift ended when Angela walked into the room. She smiled sympathetically at me before sitting across from me. I was busy reorganizing my tray after a particularly hyper kid knocked it on the floor. Apparently he didn't like that he had to be stitched up after running face first into a glass door. Angela reached over and started helping me sort.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," I protested, waving her hands away. "I'm almost done here."

She shook her head and kept stacking alcohol wipes. "It's no problem. It's faster this way." She glanced up at me and hesitated. "How are you doing? You seemed a little distracted earlier." I frowned. It was that obvious? She hurried on, seeing my expression. "You don't have to tell me, I just wanted you to know that I was here if you needed anything."

I relaxed my face and smiled at her. "I'm fine, Ang. I was surprised that you realized I was upset. I thought I was hiding it pretty well." Angela laughed and took the tray from me, setting it on the counter behind her.

"Sure, if you think doodling during rounds is a good way to hide things," She teased me. I laughed, slightly embarrassed that I'd been caught. She sat down again and took out two lollipops from her coat pocket. She offered me one. "Want one? I swiped them from pediatrics." I grinned as I unwrapped a cherry lollipop. I really liked Angela. She was such a sweet person and she certainly knew how to cheer me up. We licked our lollipops in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"Do you want to hang out tonight?" I blurted out, surprising myself and Angela. It might have been my guilt from my months of silence weighing down on me, but I felt the sudden urge to get to know her better and become friends. Besides, what better way to distract myself from thoughts of dangerous green eyes than to have fun? "I'm going to Finnegan's tonight with some of my friends. It'd be really nice if you'd join us."

Angela smiled shyly at me. "Sure, I could definitely use a beer after having to do a pelvic exam on a seventy year old woman today." I shuddered and stared at her wordlessly. She nodded slowly. "Yeah. It was _that _bad."

Apparently the suture room wasn't the ultimate punishment.

*******************************************

I walked through the familiar doors of Finnegan's feeling a little lighter than I had in weeks. Sure, I had obsessive thoughts about a ridiculously handsome man with severe mood swings, but I had high hopes for a good time with friends tonight. Alice and Rosalie waved at us from over by our usual corner and we weaved through the crowd towards them. To my right, I could see Emmett standing at the bar buying drinks for the table. He spotted me as we walked by and he let out a bellowing hello. I laughed and waved back, my spirits instantly climbing higher. Angela and I slid into seats across from Alice and Rosalie. My friends introduced themselves and by the time Emmett came back with drinks, everyone was chatting comfortably.

I looked around me, casually studying the crowd as I accepted my beer, and my eyes caught a flash of copper by the door. My heart leapt up and started racing, as my eyes followed the color. He came? Did Emmett let him know we were here? Was he still angry at me? My heart beat uncomfortably fast and my palms started sweating as I saw the head bop through the crowd. My lips automatically raised in a small smile as he came through the sea of people.

It wasn't him.

It was just a guy with red hair, the dim yellow lights of the bar had played trick with my eyes and had made me see a different color. He wasn't even handsome, or at least not as surreal looking as Edward. I let out a low disappointed sigh and then mentally smacked myself. Why was I going through such agony just to find out why someone was upset with me? I didn't even like the guy. I probably wouldn't even care if he did hate me, so long as I could know why.

Alice interrupted my desperate thoughts as she leaned towards me conspiratorially, her long turquoise necklace dangling onto the table. "Hey, you don't mind that I invited Mike, do you?" I felt my friends' heads swing over to me as I took a big swig and shrugged. He wasn't my date anymore, what did I care?

Emmett shot me a look. "Do I need to give him a shake down, Bella? I can play the overprotective big brother part really well." He casually draped an arm over Rose's chair. She looked up at him lovingly. Alice's eyes bugged out at the sight, confirming that seeing a love struck Rose was still as odd to her as it was for me.

"I can definitely believe that, Emmett," I said, taking in his large muscular frame. He shot a big pleased smile at me and I laughed. Grizzly on the outside, teddy bear on the inside. "I don't think it'll be necessary…" I started, but Rosalie cut me off.

"So how'd your date with him go?" She smiled at me while leaning into Emmett's shoulder. I squinted my eyes at her doubtfully. Was she actually pretending that she hadn't heard about it? "What's with that look?" She protested, hiding her smirk behind her drink.

"You know very well how it went, Rosalie Hale." I scowled at her. Rosalie burst out laughing. Emmett and Angela stared at her with confused looks on their faces. Alice nudged her with her shoulder to quiet her down, but then started giggling as well.

My so-called friends.

Angela turned to me. "What happened?"

I scrunched my nose slightly as I searched for the proper words to explain. "He's a nice guy but we have absolutely nothing in common." Rosalie snorted at this, and Alice clamped a hand over her mouth. I glared at the two of them as their laughter died down to the occasional chuckle.

Angela looked at me in disbelief. "You can't have _nothing_ in common with someone. That's just impossible." I opened my mouth to argue, when I saw Mike's head moving through the crowd. As he came closer through the crowd, I saw that he had on a bright pink dress shirt and crisp black jeans with creases down the legs. A black and pink checkered tie was slung loosely around his neck. Basically, he looked like he had stepped out of a fashion shoot. He smiled when he saw us and hurried over.

"Impossible you say?" I muttered. It was Emmett's turn to have his eyes bug out of his skull.

Mike came over and swung me out of my chair. "Bella! How are you?" I nearly fell over as he tried to hug me. I had to laugh at his enthusiasm.

"I'm great, Mike. How are you?" I managed to say while being caught in his embrace.

"Awesome and totally in the mood for a mojito!" He exclaimed. Emmett looked on paralyzed. Mike might as well have painted a bullseye on himself for Emmett. Mike's head swiveled over to Alice. "Alice! You look beautiful tonight!" I cocked my head to the side and watched as his eyes took her in appreciatively. Was he making a play for Alice? That could be interesting to see. "Is that the new Anna Sui dress that came in yesterday?" Mike's voice raised in enthusiasm.

Oh, maybe not.

I could see Emmett's face going through a jumble of emotions as he tried to work out what was playing out in front of him. Rosalie slapped a hand on his arm in an effort to keep him in check.

"Yes! Isn't it great?" Alice jumped out of her chair and twirled around. She was wearing a short black dress with turquoise trimmings and a little belt around her waist. It was definitely pretty, but I don't know if it merited that level of enthusiasm. Apparently Mike thought it did as he went over to her after a quick hi to everyone and sat next to her as they went over the details on her dress.

A couple of minutes passed and no one else spoke a word. Angela's eyes kept furtively sliding over to Mike, and Rosalie was practically gripping Emmett's arm.

Finally, Emmett cleared his throat. "Hold on, you didn't tell me you went on a date with a gay dude." Angela let out a giggle and I grimaced. Rosalie slapped Emmett's shoulder. Hard. Mike didn't even notice as Alice was now touching his tie and counting the stitches surrounding the squares. I could tell she was sizing up her competition by the way she studied it closely.

"He's not gay!" Rose hissed at him. Emmett looked completely confused. His head swiveled back and forth between Mike and Alice as if he were seeing double. I could see where his confusion was coming from. Mike's behavior was so full of contradictions. He was excited about dresses, yet you couldn't deny the way he appreciated the woman underneath the dress as well, as his head snapped up when a couple of pretty blondes walked by.

Angela laughed and shook her head at him. "I think he's just metro and really into fashion." She looked over at the pair who was now debating whether Alice should buy some more Anna Sui pieces for her shop. "_Really_ really into fashion." Angela clarified.

"Wow," Emmett looked at Mike curiously as if he were a rare specimen. "Where the hell did she find him?"

"He's her assistant at her store. Apparently his mom was a seamstress and really into big designers, so he kind of grew up surrounded by that." I explained, amused by Emmett's befuddled expression.

"My mom's an interior designer and I'm not into buying couches and crap." Emmett stated bluntly, still confused at seeing a straight man who knew about fabrics. Rosalie laughed and leaned over to kiss his cheek. Emmett beamed at that.

"Well, he's just extra...special." I shrugged, watching as Alice argued with Mike over some seam choice. No wonder those two wouldn't make a good couple. They were just too much alike.

The rest of the night went smoothly once Emmett had gotten over his initial shock. Emmett was a traditional 'man's man' who liked video games, beer and pretzels, while Mike preferred sharing drinks with Alice and complimented Angela on her shoes. Despite their differences, it was obvious they had some common ground once Mike excused himself to buy a girl a drink. He was turned down, sadly, but Emmett still held out his fist for a bump out of respect. I had to laugh at how Mike stared at Emmett's fist before lightly tapping it with his own. That seemed to break the ice between the two, but it was still necessary to reign in Emmett once he felt comfortable enough to start making sly jokes about Mike. After the fifth not-so-subtle attempt to ask Mike about his undergarments, Rosalie had to physically drag Emmett away to the dance floor before he could stick his foot further into his mouth. Mike seemed to take it all in stride though, and cheerfully kept chatting with us all about our days.

While I watched Emmett twirl Rosalie around the floor, my eyes wandered over to the jukebox. My cheeks flushed a little at the memory of how Edward's arms had encircled my waist and had then brought me close to his chest. I wondered where he was and what he was doing. I kept thinking that he would magically appear, that he would burst through the front doors, his green eyes gleaming. He would stride over to me with those long muscular legs, pull me up and then…

"Earth to Bella," Mike sang in my ear. I rolled my eyes. As if I hadn't heard that line before. Thank you, Incubus. I was a little annoyed at the interruption from my thoughts, as well as annoyed at being annoyed. It was slightly confusing, to say the least. I turned to Mike and saw that he was pointing at Alice, who was trying to get my attention. I couldn't help but smile. Her little face was flushed from the margaritas she was drinking, and she had stuck one of the little paper umbrellas behind her ear. Her short hair was slightly disheveled and she was swinging her legs while taking little licks from the sugar rim around her drink.

"So…" Alice smiled, as she leaned forward and spilled some margarita onto the table.

"Whoa there, my little pixie," I laughed and gently pried her fingers away from her drink. She pouted but let me take it away from her. "I think that might be the last one for you." I counted the empty glasses around her. How did Alice and Mike manage to drink so many margaritas in two hours?

Alice made a face. "Yes, _mom_," I shook my head and took a sip from her drink. "Oh, like that's fair!" She protested. Angela turned to us and laughed, her own cheeks slightly flushed. "Anyway, I'm not drunk yet. It's just hot in here. Look at your own face." She challenged me while fanning herself. I blushed a little more, realizing I had been caught in my fantasies.

"What were you saying before?" I asked, redirecting the focus of the conversation. Alice's expression brightened immediately and she leaned towards me again.

"Okay, this is really urgent," she said, pounding her fist onto the table to emphasize her point. "The Coffee Pot is closing next week for renovations, which only gives us about two weeks before the new store opens. This is crunch time, people! We have to get our point across, and we have to do it soon!" Rosalie and Emmett sauntered back to the table as Alice was giving her little motivational speech.

"Are you seriously still going on about a coffee shop?" Rosalie frowned, taking a long sip from her beer. Ever since she started dating Emmett, I'd seen Rose do lots of things that were unlike her, like learning how to play games on Xbox and eat movie theater nacho cheese. Emmett had even dragged her along to a football game, and despite her initial protests, Rose had had a good time, particularly because of the beer. Now she was always switching up between her usual cosmo and a good ol' Bud.

Alice glared at her. "It's not just a coffee shop, Rose. It's the principle of the matter!" She turned to me again. "Tomorrow morning, we'll meet up for coffee there and we'll brainstorm." I looked helplessly at Rosalie who shrugged a shoulder at me.

"Don't look at me. I'm not waking up early tomorrow morning." Rose raised her eyebrows, daring Alice to push her.

"This isn't an option." Alice said icily, looking at the two of us.

Rosalie stared at Alice calculatingly and then slid the margarita back towards her. "If you can drink three more of these tonight and still be fine with waking up early tomorrow morning, then I'll be there. Bright and freaking early. " I could see Emmett staring adoringly at Rosalie from the corner of my eye. He seemed to like this side of her. What an odd turn on for him.

"Is that a bet?" Alice asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Oh, you know it's a bet." Rosalie stared back at her, smirking.

Alice grabbed the glass and held it up towards us. "Buy me the drinks, and it's on. Cheers!" She tipped the contents back and shook her head to clear it of the cold. She closed her eyes and grimaced slightly, but then popped them back open. With a smile, she daintily placed the empty glass back on the table. I glared at Rosalie.

Good God, how many times did I have to tell her to never bet against Alice?

*************************************

Author's Note #2 - I couldn't help but stick that last line in there. I'm really enjoying writing about Alice, if you can't tell. Also, Mike's just fun to have around. I think he lightens the scenes a lot when Bella's brooding about Edward.

Please review! Reviews make me happy. If you haven't already done so, please click that nice green box and make me happy!


	10. You Say You Want a Revolution

Author's Note: This is a long chapter! It took me a while to write and to perfect it, but I'm quite happy with how it turned out. Thank you all so much for your reviews. I love each one of them! They give me inspiration to keep on writing.

As always, Twilight isn't mine, but the story is.

************************************************************

"I hate you." Rosalie growled as she slumped into the chair next to me. It was "freaking early" the next day, as Rose had so eloquently put it, and we had both been forced to meet with Alice at The Coffee Pot. Alice smirked as she took in Rosalie's slightly rumpled appearance. I had no idea how she had done it, but Alice had managed to down three more margaritas last night and had still beat us here today. I had arrived fifteen minutes ago, my hair still wet and sticking to my scalp, only to be greeted by a perky as ever Alice. True, she had already had three empty espresso cups sitting next to her, but it didn't explain how she was perfectly coiffed and impeccably dressed. I had consumed a lot less than Alice last night, but had still only had the energy to drag my ass into sweats. It was difficult to believe that such a creature as Alice existed.

"I told you never to bet against me." Alice said cockily, her voice sounding impossibly cheerful for such a godforsaken hour.

Rose pulled off her large sunglasses from her face and squinted into the light. "Let's just get this over with," she snapped, accepting her coffee from me. She shrugged off her coat and met my inquisitive gaze as I took in her jersey. She grunted. "Emmett's dragging me to a Seahawks game today, and I won't have time to get changed because _this_ one here insists on talking about this stupid coffee shop." Rosalie glared at Alice.

Alice frowned. "It's not stupid, Rose. It's an important issue. You'll thank me when you're not sitting on haystacks."

"I'd like to shove a haystack up your—" Rosalie grumbled.

"Oh! I'd like to see you try!" Alice interjected.

"Whoa! Down, ladies!" I held my hands out in a peace-keeping attempt. Alice huffed quietly and took a dainty sip from her espresso. Rose glared at me as I tried to discretely slide her coffee towards her. With a sniff, she snatched it up and took a few long gulps. Early morning encounters with Rosalie required coffee, otherwise things could get nasty. I exhaled and tried to clear my tired brain. "Alright, so humor us, Alice. What's this about?"

Alice leaned forward immediately, her hands clasped in a businesslike matter. Her eyes darted around the room, as if looking for eavesdroppers. Clearly, there were ninjas lurking in the shadows. "Alright, ladies. We have thirteen days before it all goes down. Thirteen days! That means, there is no more room for passive tactics here," Rosalie and I shared a glance at her mention of her passive tactics. Alice and her picket signs had only lasted a day before the manager had threatened her with calling the police. While seeing Alice up on her toes and yelling into the manager's face had been a memorable event, I didn't think we needed a repeat performance. "It's time to get serious. It's time to get revolutionary on their asses. We need to fight back!" Alice paused for dramatic effect. "Therefore, it is time for Plan B."

Rose snorted, effectively breaking the mood. "I swear, this better not involve chaining yourself to the shop!" I laughed, and was instantly met by Alice's evil eye. "Of course," Rosalie went on, unperturbed by our friend's threatening face. "I could think of a couple guys who would be willing to pay big money to see you in chains." I stifled a smile, remembering the guy with the blond hair.

"Guys, this is serious!" Alice scowled. Rosalie shrugged her shoulders, already bored by the discussion.

I sighed and decided to play along. "Okay. So what's Plan B?"

Alice perked up again. A sly smile lit up her face. "We infiltrate."

I blinked. I really had to take those spy movies off her Netflix queue.

"You're kidding, right? You're not really thinking we're going to put on black latex suits and slide in through the air vents?" My voice wavered a bit, a little worried that she might actually be considering such action. When it came to Alice and her schemes, I really couldn't put anything past her.

"Oh, please, Bella," Alice laughed, waving off my concerns. "Can you really picture me in black latex?" I laughed a little uncertainly, not wanting her to see my doubt.

Rosalie studied us over her coffee. "What's wrong with latex suits?" Alice and I both whipped our heads around to look at her. She met our eyes unabashed. Unwanted images started filling my head. Rosalie in black latex standing over Emmett with a whip in her hand. I shuddered.

"I don't even know what to say to that," Alice said in a small voice. She shook her head fast to clear it. She opened her mouth and then shut it quickly with a snap. She turned to Rose again and pleaded with her blue eyes. "Just please tell me that it's not Emmett who wears the outfits."

Rosalie smiled wickedly. "I'll never tell." Alice and I both shuddered as the images in my head changed to even more disturbing ones. Emmett in latex chaps smiling and waving a whip in the air. Emmett frolicking in a latex jumpsuit with a mask on. I groaned. There were just somethings that you didn't need to know about your friends. Rosalie got up from the table with a flourish. "And I'll leave you with that, my friends," she sang out as she picked up her jacket. "That's my gift to you for making me get up at the ass crack of dawn!" She blew kisses at us and left with a swagger in her step.

We remained quiet for a few minutes after Rosalie left, each of us obviously lost in our own thoughts and bad images. Alice cleared her throat and tried to regain her composure. "Anyway! What I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted was that I'm talking about a different form of infiltration. I'm saying we need to get in there and score a meeting with the bosses."

I looked at Alice in disbelief. "And how do you plan on doing that?"

"Well that's why I'm calling it infiltration, Bella. We gotta figure out a plan to get in there, somehow. It's not going to be easy, but if I can just get five minutes with the president, I'm sure I can convince him to change their plans." Alice pounded her fist against the table with conviction. I studied her dubiously. I personally agreed with Rosalie, that this was a waste of time, but unlike Rose, I'd be willing to help Alice just to make her happy.

"So do you actually have a plan to get in there?" I questioned Alice, idly wondering if this could result in jail time. Her ideas had to be legal, after all. Right?

"You could say that," Alice replied cryptically. "It's going to require some careful timing."

My eyes narrowed at her wording. "Timing?"

Alice smiled. "Timing and some reconnaissance work." She looked down at her watch, missing the horrified look on my face. "Oh! Which means we have to go now. Hurry up, Bella, we can't be late!" She leapt to her feet and grabbed her jacket before running towards the door.

Oh, God, we were going to jail.

**********************************************************

I drove to the corporate building against my will. Alice chattered the entire way, explaining the finer details of her plan. I half listened, though I mostly wondered if they'd take away my license to practice medicine if I went to jail for something that was not medically related. Alice pointed out a parking spot to me and I mindlessly slid my car in. She bounced out as soon I parked and started dragging me towards the building while I was still locking my car.

I looked up at the tall glass building as we walked closer. It was disturbingly tall, towering over smaller buildings on either side. The company's name was spelled out in large, gleaming letters that were located strategically in the middle, so that your eyes were drawn to it immediately. I stubbed my toe on the raised entryway and scowled. Our footsteps echoed loudly in the large marble lobby. I looked around me cautiously, almost thinking a security guard was going to come and tackle us on sight. There was a large fountain in the middle of the lobby, but it was turned off because it was a Saturday morning. Cushy furniture was located in clusters around the room, obviously for people to gather in groups and chat. Alice poked me in the ribs and pointed towards the elevators.

"What?" I asked, slightly wincing from her thin elbow.

"That's where they're going to come from." She motioned for me to follow her to an area of seats. She sat in a chair facing the elevators, her face shining with excitement.

I plopped down on a couch facing her. "Who?"

Alice rolled her eyes at me. "You weren't listening," she accused. I shrugged unapologetically. Alice sighed and began her explanation again. "We are going to wait and see what time the next cleaning shift arrives. We'll pretend we're new workers here and we'll ask for the work schedule for weekdays. Then we can plan what time we'll sneak in demand a meeting!" Alice bounced in her seat, her little shoes clicking against the floor.

She had gone insane.

I adamantly shook my head no. "Lucy, this is a _bad_ idea."

"Ethel, this is a great idea!" Alice shot back, as she waited impatiently for the doors to open.

I followed her line of sight. "Do you even have any idea when they'll get off work?"

Alice raised her eyebrow at me. "Of course, I do, Bella. Do you really think I'd have us sit here for hours on end just waiting?" I shrugged and bit back the retort on my lips. Alice continued looking past my shoulder.

I yawned and leaned back on the couch. I drowsily stared at the outside world. The free world. Look at all those people who were free to go and enjoy their Saturday without being held captive by their friend. Look at the little bird flying free. Look at that tow truck driving near where I parked…

HOLY CRAP!

I shot out of my seat and started running towards the door. I heard Alice yelling at me and I shouted back some garbled words as I tried to not trip over the entryway. I pushed the doors open and ran towards my car just in time to see a man hooking a chair around my fender.

"No! No no no no no!" I yelled out, waving my arms to stop him. He looked up, obviously used to seeing people freaking out at him, and kept winding things around my fender. With a grunt of frustration, I leaned on my car hood and panted as he continued. "What are you doing?" I gasped out.

"You're parked in a tow away zone." He said flatly, taking more chains out of his truck.

I ran up to him and tried to keep him away from my car. "No I'm not! There's no sign!" He sighed and jerked his thumb towards a sign that was half hidden by an overgrown bush. I gasped and stumbled over to the bush. I pushed some leaves aside and saw that it was a partially hidden no parking sign. I growled. Great job picking that spot, Alice.

"Do you still have to tow it away? I'm here now! Can't I just drive away?" I turned back towards the man and tried to reason with him.

"Sorry, can't do that. Gotta take it in," He finished chaining my car and headed back towards his truck. "You can pay the ticket at city hall and then you can get your car back."

Defeated, I followed him as he got into his truck. "How much is the ticket?"

"Five hundred dollars." The man scribbled something on his clipboard and then tossed it on the seat next to him.

I gaped at him. Five hundred dollars? That was more than I could even afford to spend paying back my college and med school loans each month. I gripped onto the side of his truck and pleaded. "Please, please, please let me drive it away? Do I look like I have that kind of money? If I had five hundred dollars, would I be driving that car?" I gestured wildly at my beat up Nissan.

The man shrugged and started his truck. "Not my problem."

I peeled myself away from the side of his truck and watched in despair as he drove away, taking my precious car with him. "You've got to be kidding me!" I yelled out, stamping my foot like a child. I allowed myself in my moment of insanity to give him the finger, something I never did for fear of being shot by an angry driver. It felt so good that I raised my other hand and did it again, all the while shouting unintelligible words.

When the man had driven far enough away that I couldn't see my car, I stopped shouting and stood there, shaking. I dropped my arms and my hands balled up into fists. It was early. I was exhausted. My friend was insane and wanted us to be cleaning ladies so we could save a coffee shop. My boss thought I was stupid. I was constantly thinking about a man who disliked me immensely. And now, I had no car and no way to get it back. Tears prickled the edges of my eyes and I sniffed loudly, hoping to hold them back.

I was so caught up in my self-pity that I almost didn't hear the soft sounds of someone clearing their throat. I whirled around and stared at the blond man from the coffee shop.

He looked at me inquisitively. "Are you alright, miss?" He drawled out, concern evident in his blue eyes. I opened my mouth, but the tears forming in my eyes started sliding down my cheeks before I could utter a word. Frustrated by the signs of tears, I whirled around tried to clear my eyes. That only made me cry harder. I stifled a sob and squeezed my eyes shut. I felt a hand touch my shoulder hesitantly. "Would you like to talk about it?"

I grunted, shaking my head as I realized how ridiculous I looked. Here I was, standing in the middle of the sidewalk, shouting like a madwoman and then crying, only to be comforted by a complete stranger. The man ignored my protests and gently led me to a bench by the side of the building. Tears kept flowing from my eyes and I swept them off my face quickly. The man waited patiently until my quiet sobs ended. I sniffled loudly, and he pulled out a small pack of tissues.

"Thanks," I muttered, snatching up one and blowing my nose embarrassingly loud. The man smiled, his blue eyes crinkling slightly. A light wind passed by and he shivered, drawing up his jacket closer to his neck. I stuffed the dirty tissue into my pocket and glanced up at him. "You haven't been here long, have you?"

The man grinned. "It was the accent that gave me away, wasn't it?" I chuckled lightly, despite myself. His heavy Southern accent _was_ very noticeable in the Pacific Northwest.

"Where are you from?" I asked, studying his tan skin and the golden hair that was sticking out from underneath his heavy woolen hat.

"I'm from Houston, Texas," He said proudly. He looked around at the cloudy sky and the small puddles of rain on the ground. "I guess you could say I'm a long way from home."

I smiled in agreement. "I feel the same way sometimes. I was raised in Phoenix."

The man nodded appreciatively and grinned again. "Another lover of the sun."

"It can be hard living here sometimes. It's hard to get used to the rain and clouds," I said thoughtfully. Another wind blew by and the man shivered slightly. "And the cold." I added, smiling.

We sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. I felt my hysteria dying down. The man seemed so calm and relaxed, that I couldn't help but breathe deeply and feel my heart settling down. I saw him looking at me from the corner at the eye and I turned towards him.

"How are you feeling now?" The man asked me as he stretched out his long legs.

"Better. Thanks," I looked off to the distance towards the direction the truck had taken my car. The man next to me didn't question me anymore and I was kind of glad. I wiped my eyes once more and stood up slowly. "I should get going. My friend's waiting for me in there," I gestured towards the big corporate building. "And even though I'll probably end up going to jail for her, I should check up on her." I shut my mouth quickly. I had definitely said too much.

The man looked up at me curiously. "I was actually going there myself." He pointed towards a big envelope sitting next to him on the bench that I hadn't noticed in my previous state.

"You work there?" I gasped. I really hope he wouldn't report what I'd just said.

"Sort of," He admitted, and picked up the envelope as he stood up. I panicked slightly. "I—"

"Please don't tell anyone else what I just said!" I begged. "Alice just has a way of letting her ideas run away from her, and she doesn't mean any trouble, and I would _really_ hate to go to jail." I said in a rush.

The man's blue eyes widened at my admission, and he laughed a little. "And why would you and Alice in Chains be going to jail? Does this have anything to do with the signs?" His eyes twinkled and I blushed as I realized he remembered Rosalie's teasing.

I hesitated. Was it better to tell him or to just let them all find out? I decided to dive in. The man had been so nice to me that I doubted he'd go and tell his bosses. "Alice is trying to get your bosses to rethink the renovations. She's afraid it'll end up as a tribute to butter and roosters." I held my breath, waiting to see his reaction.

The man scratched his head through his hat and shook his head slightly. A smile played on his lips. "I can see how that'd be scary."

I suddenly had an epiphany and gasped. I clutched the man's arm. "Do you think you can get us a meeting with your bosses?" The man looked a little taken aback and I tried to explain. "This way we won't have to rent cleaning lady costumes and we can still meet with them." I could see that I had just scared him a little more by my explanation. I slowly let go of his arm and continued. "I know, I know. It sounds insane, and that's Alice for you. But, seriously, do you think there's any way that you could get us a meeting? Just five minutes with them?"

I could see the inner debate that was raging inside the man's head. Finally, he spoke, his accent drawing out the words slightly. "Well…I guess I could see what I could do...." I let out a very un-Bella-like squeal of joy and jumped up and down. The man laughed again, and held his hands out to calm me down. "I can't promise anything, miss." He stuck his hand out to me and I grasped it eagerly. "I'm Jasper, by the way."

"I'm Bella," I said, as tears came to my eyes again. Jasper frowned and passed me another tissue. I waved it away. "I'm fine. You just saved me from potentially going to jail." I sighed happily.

We exchanged information and then walked into the building together. He was a perfect Southern gentleman, as he held the door open for me and prevented me from stumbling when I stubbed my toe on the entryway again. I looked around for Alice, excited to tell her the good news, but saw that she was gone. I walked with Jasper to the elevators and said a quick goodbye before he went upstairs. I waited a few minutes and then the other elevator door opened to reveal a widely grinning Alice. She danced out and grabbed my arm, pulling me quickly to the doors. She waved a schedule in my face, practically vibrating from excitement.

"Alice, you won't believe what happened!" I pushed the paper away and tried to keep up with her. For such a little person, Alice had unusually long strides.

"What?" Alice asked, practically running towards the parking spot. She froze and I crashed into her. Alice looked at me inquisitively. "Where's your car?"

*************************************************************

The rest of the weekend flew by as I tried desperately to find the money to get my car back. I realized if I shuffled my accounts around, I could probably come up with enough to pay the city for my car, but that I'd probably have to live on peanut butter for two weeks in order to cover my expenses. Sadly, I probably wouldn't have any money to fill up the tank for the next month either. Nevertheless, I'd rather scrimp on things for a few weeks and walk than have the city holding my car hostage. It was just sad to think of my little red Altima parked in car jail alongside a drug vehicle.

Alice had been elated when I told her about my encounter with Jasper. She hadn't yet scrapped her cleaning maid plan, though she had put it on the backburner for now. I was crossing my fingers that Jasper would come through, because playing spies with Alice was not on my list of things to do before I went to jail.

Monday morning rolled around and I ran into the locker room at the hospital five minutes late. I changed out of my clothes in a hurry, cursing the towing man in my mind. Angela ran in after me and hurriedly changed into her scrubs.

"What's your excuse?" I asked with a wink as I tied my sneakers. Angela was never late.

She blushed and looked around the room, making sure it was empty. She leaned in towards me as she tied the front of her pants. "I was with Ben." I gasped and giggled with her as we rushed out of the room and ran towards the assignment board. Ben was one of the nurses in pediatrics. He was always cheerful and had a nice comment to say to everyone, which made him very pleasant to work with. I had noticed that he would always give Angela a lingering glance when she was around, and that she would do the same subtly. I had always thought that they would never get over their shyness and actually talk to one another, but apparently something had happened.

"I can't believe you, Dr. Webber!" I chastised her jokingly as we rounded the corner. Angela blushed but continued to smile widely. "You're going to have to tell me all about it later, you know."

"I definitely will." Angela sighed deeply and I smiled with her. She looked absolutely infatuated. We both looked up at the board and found our assignments. I waved at Angela as we parted ways, both hurrying to our patients' rooms.

My shift went by without any excitement and soon I was headed towards the break room to catch up on some paperwork before I went home. Angela flew by me as I walked slowly to the room, balancing fifteen folders in my arms. When she realized she had passed by me, she came back towards me and steadied a file that was threatening to slide off.

"Do you need any help with that?" She asked with concern.

I shook my head and shrugged. "It's alright. I've been putting off my paperwork for a while now, and it's coming back to bite me. Go home, Ang."

Angela blushed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Well, I'm actually going out with Ben tonight…" her voice drifted off as I raised an eyebrow at her and grinned knowingly.

"The more reason for you to get home. Go on. I'm fine here. At least one of us should get to have a love life." I joked as I shifted the files around again. Angela smiled at me widely and waved goodbye, eager to get home for her date. I watched her walk away with a sad smile on my face.

First Rosalie. Now Angela.

I wasn't a hopeless romantic as most women tend to be, but there was a part of me that really wanted to have what they had. There was a definite part of me that was envious. As strong as I always tried to be, particularly after Jake left, a large part of me truly longed to have someone to come home to at night. Someone who would greet me with a smile after a long shift and ease my tension away. Someone who would invest as much into the relationship as I did. Someone who just…got me, and I wouldn't have to pretend to be stronger than I really was or girlier or happier or anything other than what I already was. I wanted someone who wanted me for me.

What a fairy tale.

With a large sigh, I rounded the corner and walked slowly and absent-mindedly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dr. Cullen walking towards me, his head buried deep in a file. I shifted to my left to avoid colliding with him. At that moment, a nurse came out of a room wheeling a patient and the chief shifted to his right. He crashed against me and I dropped my files with a small yelp. Instantly, his hands went to my shoulders to steady me.

"Dr. Swan, are you alright? I'm terribly sorry about that." Dr. Cullen dropped to his knees to gather my files. I squatted quickly and helped him.

"It's alright, Dr. Cullen. I'm fine," I accepted the files he handed me and blushed when he smiled at me. Emboldened, I went on. "It was kind of refreshing to not be the cause of a collision for once." I smiled shyly.

Dr. Cullen let out a short laugh and helped me to my feet. He tucked his own file under his arm and looked at me for a moment. "I'm actually glad I ran into you, Dr. Swan. I've been meaning to talk to you." Oh? Uh-oh. What did Dr. Roberts tell the chief? "Emmett's grown quite fond of you, and has mentioned you a lot." My body relaxed and I let out a little chuckle.

"Yes, sir. He's sort of my surrogate big brother." I joked.

The chief smiled at me kindly. "Well, as you may know, his birthday is this coming weekend," Yeah, Emmett had mentioned that once…or twice…or three times. It had seemed to me that he loved his birthday as much as I hated mine. "His mother and I are planning on celebrating it tomorrow night with a little dinner for him, and we would love if it you would join us."

I stared at Dr. Cullen for a few seconds, unblinkingly. Did the chief-of-staff just invite me to his house for dinner?

"Uh, sure. I-I would like that. Thank you." I stuttered, barely able to contain my enthusiasm. I was positive Rosalie would like it if I were there with her. She had just been rambling to me on the phone the night before about how she was actually nervous to meet Emmett's parents. My presence might make her feel a little better.

Dr. Cullen smiled again at me and walked away after giving me the details. I stood there for a few minutes after he walked past. I clutched the small piece of paper with his address on it and stared at it. A smile formed on my face. Dinner at the chief-of-staff's house! I shifted the files in my arms and started walking again with a new bounce in my step. I opened the door to the break room and then looked down to steady the files that had moved. My eyes widened with a terror when I saw the name on the top file.

Edward Cullen.

I had forgotten about him. Oh crap.

Suddenly dinner didn't seem so appealing anymore.

************************************************************

Tuesday night arrived before I knew it. Nervously, I walked toward the front door of the Cullen house. Or maybe estate was more appropriate, as this house sat on more private land than I had ever seen before. I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. My hands nervously smoothed down the front of my blue dress. Earlier that night I had walked to Alice's apartment to borrow her car, as mine was still rotting away in the car prison. She had taken one look at my black dress pants and crisp white blouse and had dragged me kicking and screaming towards her bedroom, all the while muttering something about how friends didn't let friends dress like waiters from a three star restaurant. I had learned not to even question why she had clothes in my size at her apartment. Alice loved taking the opportunity to dress me up in her creations. She called in free advertisement; I called it cruel and unusual punishment.

I fidgeted again, wobbling a bit on the little heels Alice had forced me to wear. The massive door swung open at that moment, and I smiled shyly at the beautiful woman who was standing there. She was petite, a little bit taller than me, and had warm, caramel colored hair that fell to her shoulders. Her eyes were warm brown and expressive, and from the dimples in her smile, I was able to gather that she was Emmett's mother. She was wearing a beautiful cream colored dress that flowed around her legs. In a word, she was gorgeous. I blushed as I realized I was gawking at her.

"Come in, dear," she motioned for me to step inside. She closed the door behind me and smiled at me again. "You must be Bella." Her sweet voice was like chimes.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Cullen." I said bashfully.

She shook her head and motioned for me to take off my coat. "Call me Esme, dear. When someone says Mrs. Cullen, I think they're talking about my mother-in-law," I laughed as I shrugged off my long coat and handed it to her. Esme looked down at my dress and gasped. "What a beautiful dress! You look so lovely. Turn around for me?"

I blushed again but complied. "It's an Alice Brandon," I said automatically, as Alice had taught me to do. Esme looked admiringly at my blue raw silk dress as I spun around. Alice had stitched little silver threads in an intricate pattern around the hem and the low back. I considered it a little low cut for my taste, particularly the back that dipped a few inches near my waist, but Alice had reassured me that it was tasteful. "She's one of our best friends and she likes to dress me up."

"She is incredibly talented," Esme observed with a smile. I thanked her and promised I'd pass her compliments along to Alice. I looked around me and felt my eyes widen. While the Cullen's house had been majestic looking from the outside, the inside was even more beautiful. The rooms were large and very open, with tall windows in the back. The ceilings were high, and the walls were painted an off white color, giving the impression that the rooms were even larger. There were many comfortable looking couches in the living room, as well as dark, mahogany furniture. I spotted a large, black piano in the corner by the glass doors that led to the patio.

"You have a beautiful home." I complimented Esme, while my eyes continued to take in the little details. I knew that Emmett had said his mom was an interior designer, but there were so many touches that only a mother would include. I spotted a framed piece of paper near the stairs with two little hand prints on it, one red and the other green. On the large mantle above the fireplace were rows upon rows of picture frames.

Esme smiled again, obviously pleased. "Thank you. It's taken a while, but I'm really happy with the results," She was about to continue, but someone called her name from outside. "Please, make yourself at home. Everyone's gathered around the fire pit outside, but feel free to look around before you come out."

I walked towards the glass doors that led to the patio and peered through. Small dinner party? There must have been about thirty people here. They were all gathered around the fire pit, drinking from wine glasses and laughing. I quickly found Emmett and Rosalie near the center. Emmett was eating little skewers of something that looked delicious, even from a distance, and Rose was smiling at something he had just said. I could tell she looked a little nervous, but she was playing it off well, as she tossed her long hair over her shoulder confidently. Dr. Cullen was standing near them, talking to a couple of people I didn't recognize. My eyes wandered as I tried identifying more people. I spotted several board members from the hospital, as well as the heads of a couple departments. Towards the back I recognized a face that I hadn't wanted to see.

Dr. Roberts was here.

I gulped audibly, and turned away, walking quickly to the fireplace. I could deal with board members, and people who were high up in the hospital. However, I definitely couldn't deal with Dr. Roberts being here. I leaned on the mantle, and closed my eyes. I gathered myself and breathed in again. I wasn't going to let myself be intimidated by my boss.

I opened my eyes and found myself staring at a picture of a much younger Edward. He was grinning his crooked smile, and was holding a high school diploma. His cap was crooked and the tassel was hanging in his eye. Emmett was standing next to him, his arm slung over his brother's shoulder with a proud smile on his face. Edward looked so innocent in the picture, so genuinely happy. It was very unlike the last time I had seen him.

Speaking of him, where was Edward?

I hadn't spotted him in the crowd. Not that I had been looking for him in particular, of course. Still, I couldn't help the disappointed feeling in the pit of my stomach. Did he know I was coming? Was he choosing to stay away?

I snorted as I studied some more of the pictures in front of me. Way to be self absorbed, Bella. He wouldn't skip his brother's birthday just because I'm coming by. He may dislike me immensely, but that probably didn't mean much to a man like Edward. He had probably already forgotten all about the incident and was surrounded by ten women at a bar. He probably was laughing at me, knowing that his glare had been pestering me for the past few days. A man like Edward probably relished the opportunity to reduce a grown woman to a teenager worrying about a guy.

I kept looking at the photos, willing myself to forget about him. Edward and Emmett riding horses on the beach when they were about eleven or twelve. A young Emmett in a Hulk Hogan Halloween costume. Edward skiing.

Clearly, my tactic of looking at photos of Edward while trying to forget about him wasn't the most clever idea.

I turned to walk away, when my eye was caught by a black and white photo nestled in amongst the colored ones. It was of Edward dressed in a tux. He was younger, perhaps a college student or late high school, and was sitting at a piano. He was deep into the music, with his eyes closed and his head thrown back. His fingers were a blur on the keys. I gazed at the picture. He had never looked so beautiful, so passionate. That soul existed inside the body of the man who tossed sexual innuendos around like they were nothing. He was in there, despite his behavior, and he was so breathtaking.

So lost in my thoughts was I, that I jumped when a low, velvety voice whispered behind me.

"Hello."

********************************************************

Author's Note #2 - I know, cliffhanger. Sorry if you hate those, but I thought it was kind of fitting for the chapter. Also, the dinner itself will be an entire chapter, so I figured this was the best way to break it up. I hope you guys liked this. Please review! Make the author happy!


	11. Dinner and a Show

Author's Note: Sorry I took so long to update this story...this was a hard chapter to write and I wanted to get it just right before I posted it. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Thanks so much for all your reviews and love. It's great knowing you guys like my story.

I'd also like to take this chance to pimp out my other story, Stranger Things Have Happened. It's only two chapters in, but it's going to very different than this story...much lighter, faster-paced and probably fluffier. It's just for kicks.

So...here its is! The dinner... (cue dramatic music)

I don't own Twilight...but I sure wish I did. I do own the story, though.

*********************************************************

Once, during my first year at the hospital, I'd held a beating heart in my hands.

I had been helping an attending with a supposedly simple procedure, and in the middle of the operation, the man had gone into cardiac arrest. When the paddles hadn't worked, the doctor had acted quickly, and had extended the incision in the man's upper stomach, all the way to his heart. He had then cracked the man's chest open and had started internal compressions. Realizing that the cut inside his abdomen was hemorrhaging, the doctor had shouted for me to continue the compressions while he took care of controlling the blood loss. Scared out of my wits, I had squeezed the man's lifeless heart with everything I had. I had squeezed his heart for five minutes without pause, until my muscles were burning and my face was streaming sweat. When nothing happened, I had thought that we had lost him. I had thought I had failed him.

And then, just as I had been getting ready to step back and run to the locker room and cry, the man's heart had jumped in my hands. It had beaten a slightly erratic rhythm before steadying to a weak, slow pulse that resounded in my hands and through my body. There were no words to describe the relief that I had felt when that heart pounded in my hands again.

That's what it felt like when I heard Edward's voice.

My heart stopped, literally, and then jumped back to life at an erratic pace. I could feel my heart pounding in my ears, in my fingers, and in my toes. My breath started coming in gasps, and I felt my stomach doing flips. A warm sensation filled my body as I realized that he was in the same room as me, and I could sense the relief spreading throughout me, pushing away the disappointment from the pits of my stomach. My legs weakened and my hand shot out to the mantle to steady myself.

All this, just from hearing his voice.

I turned slowly, wondering if he could hear my heartbeat. Surely he could, as loud as it was right now.

And there he was, as beautiful as I remembered him. He was standing a few feet away from me, glorious in his light blue dress shirt. He had the sleeves rolled up slightly, and his hands were stuffed deep into his pants pockets. His hair was as disheveled as ever, as if he had just rolled out of bed and come down stairs. There was a strand that was sticking out above his left eyebrow, and I wanted desperately to push it away from his face.

I noticed all this within a second of looking at him, though my eyes never strayed from his face. How could they? His eyes were enough to captivate my attention. Edward's green eyes were boring into mine, a frustrated look coming from deep within.

I was mesmerized. I could feel my lips parting slowly, unwillingly, and I fought the flush that was surely taking over every exposed part of my body.

Before I could do anything that would potentially embarrass me, such as throw myself at him or faint, Edward closed his eyes and then reopened them, carefully averting his gaze to my left. The frustrated look was gone from his face, and was replaced by a mask. He looked indifferent. Cold.

It was enough to shock me back into reality, and I cleared my throat uncomfortably. "Hello." I whispered, my voice coming out slightly croaky. I winced at the sound.

"Dr. Swan," Edward nodded and cast a quick glance in my direction before his eyes shifted back towards the mantle. "I wasn't aware that you would be here tonight."

Ah. Of course. That explains it. God forbid he had to be in the same room with me.

I frowned slightly, a little dejected by his cold tone, but I hid it by passing my hand across my forehead and into my hair.

"Emmett has become a very good friend of mine." I stared back at him, wanting him to say what was on his mind. Willing him to tell me why he was acting this way with me now.

"That's nice," Edward said in a polite, disinterested tone. I tilted my head slightly and studied him while he determinedly avoided my gaze. Apparently the mantle was much more interesting than me.

A small sigh escaped my lips, and his eyes flickered back up to mine.

"Is everything -- ?" I started to ask, but was interrupted by loud laughter as the glass doors opened and the guests began to filter into the living room. Edward nodded at me again before joining the guests as they entered the dining room.

I blinked several times as he retreated from me.

What the hell? Why this attitude all of a sudden? A few weeks ago, he had been ready to buy me drinks and seduce me in his hospital room. Now, he was acting like I was an uninteresting acquaintance that he had run into on the elevator, someone that he was being forced to make small talk with for a few minutes before he could run away.

Maybe I had imagined his interest. He obviously hadn't thought of me once since the day at the hospital. Perhaps I had just been a distraction, a flavor of the day, and he hadn't counted on me making repeat appearances in his life.

Whatever it was, clearly I was no longer interesting to him.

My confusion gave way to full-fledged irritation. I could feel the blood pounding in my head.

Way to go, Bella. The first guy that made you feel hot under the collar since Jake just _had_ to be exactly like Jake. Another man who's easily distracted by shiny objects and with no attention span.

My jaw tightened and my fists clenched.

Fine.

I could play this game as well. If he wanted to pretend that we hadn't shared a few interesting moments together, then I could do the same. Hell, I could do it even better.

Damn if I was going to let Edward Cullen know that I'd been thinking about him nonstop for the past few days.

*********************************************************

After ducking into the downstairs bathroom to calm myself down, I stepped outside and was nearly tackled by Rosalie.

"Where have you been?" Rose gripped me by the arms and glared at me. "I can't do this without you, Bella! It's torture!"

I extricated myself from Rosalie's vice grip and gingerly touched my arms. "What's the matter, Rose? Are you okay?"

Rose gave me a very shaky smile. "What am I doing here? I own an auto parts store. I'm a glorified mechanic, Bella, and this place is full of geniuses. I mean, I'm surrounded by doctors and surgeons and crap. I asked someone to pass the sweet potatoes and I got a lecture on the differences between yams and sweet potatoes!" Rose rubbed her temples with her fingers. She glanced at me desperately. "Bella, the guy sitting next to me is literally a brain surgeon. He's a _brain surgeon_! I'm just waiting for the rocket scientist to pop out," she huffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. With a long sigh, she shook her head slowly. "I'm so scared. I really want Emmett's parents to like me, but it's so hard when I'm surrounded by all these eggheads."

I was stunned at my friend's confession. I'd never seen Rosalie acting this way before. She was usually so confident, so sure of herself. It was glaringly obvious that she cared a lot for Emmett and wanted to make a great impression on his family.

Smiling gently, I took her hands. "Calm down, Rose. Just be yourself and his family will love you. Don't be intimidated by any of those stiffs," I pointed at her. "You are Rosalie freakin' Hale. You are classy. You are beautiful, smart, funny and witty. You are amazing and they will know it by the time this night is over."

Rosalie's face broke out into a genuine smile. "You really think so?"

"I'm absolutely positive, Rose. Now get in there, and charm the hell out of those people." I pushed her gently towards the dining room.

She grabbed my hand. "You're coming with me," At my groan, she smirked. Back to regular Rosalie. "Does this have anything to do with a certain brother of Emmett's?"

I glared at my friend. "I don't know what you mean."

"Don't play coy, Bella. I saw you two talking through the doors. What's going on with you two?" Rosalie raised an eyebrow at me as we walked slowly towards the dining room. I could hear the noise of clinking glasses and silverware above the din of the guests.

I snorted. "Absolutely nothing."

"Right," Rosalie rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Because you two weren't having eye sex in the living room?"

We paused outside the dining room and I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms. "Rose, you're delusional. I think Edward is a disgusting, arrogant man who has the attention span of a tsetse fly. He's cold, conceited and probably bipolar. Believe me, I'm not interested." I rambled as Rosalie looked on amused.

It wasn't like I was lying. I wasn't interested. At all.

…Of course it could be because he wasn't into me. But that was a moot point.

A loud cough startled Rose and me from our position by the wall. I swiveled my head to see Emmett and Edward standing by the door, the former with a grin on his face, and the latter with a slightly twitching eye.

Ah, crap.

************************************************************

The hour that I spent at Dr. Cullen's ridiculously long dinner table was perhaps the most torturous time in my life. Never before had I felt such a strong urge to jam a salad fork into my jugular. I spent half the time avoiding Edward's icy glares from across the table, and the other half avoiding looking at Dr. Roberts. Basically, the entire hour was spent with me staring at my food and reaching out blindly for my wine glass.

It wasn't really the fabulous dinner with the chief-of-staff that I had envisioned.

Rosalie seemed to loosen up once we sat down, and she laughed and charmed those surrounding her with her usual charisma. I caught Emmett looking at her lovingly as she laughed at his father's jokes and complimented his mother on the fabulous dinner. Despite my sour mood, I was ridiculously proud of my friend and so happy that she'd found someone like Emmett.

The dinner plates were cleared and I breathed a sigh of relief. I was that much closer to escaping my own personal hell.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

It wasn't until dessert that the real drama started.

As Esme passed out slices of cake, the chief glanced in my direction and smiled. "Bella, you've been so quiet this evening. Have we been working you too hard at the hospital?"

I swallowed my sip of wine and winced as it slid heavily down my throat.

From the other end of the table came a voice so low that I barely heard it. "Perhaps she's been hardly working?" I turned and saw Dr. Roberts raising his eyebrows at me condescendingly. My cheeks flushed as half the table turned to look at me. Dr. Cullen was oblivious to the comment as Esme passed him a slice of cake. I was exceedingly aware of a pair of green eyes staring hard at me from across the table. Great, I was being embarrassed by my boss in front of _his_ boss, in front of the man who had haunted my every thought.

I looked down at my cake. "No, I work hard." I said quietly, my hand clenching my fork. Dr. Roberts shook his head and took a large bite of his cake. I sat still for a few minutes as the conversation around me resumed. With a small sigh, I looked up and found myself looking straight into Edward's frustrated eyes. I frowned and looked away quickly.

"So, Edward, how are the kids doing?" The man next to me asked.

My head snapped up.

You've got to be kidding me? He had kids?

Edward looked at the man, ignoring me completely. "My students are doing well, as always. We're actually having a recital next week."

"Your students?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. Edward's eyes slid over to mine. I flushed slightly.

"Edward teaches music at the elementary school near the hospital." Dr. Cullen explained.

Edward, a teacher? Mr. I'm-too-sexy-to-talk-to-you taught little kids? What kind of world was I living in?

"Seriously?" I uttered to my chagrin.

Really, it was time to do something about the verbal diarrhea.

Edward looked at me coolly. "Is that surprising?"

"No, I just didn't picture you for the type who works with little kids." I said, taking a bite of my cake.

"I didn't picture you for a doctor." Edward shot back with gleam in his eyes and a crooked grin on his face.

I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You just don't look the type who works in a hospital."

"And where exactly do I look like I would work?" I quirked an eyebrow at him. I realized this was pointless arguing for the sake of arguing, but I just couldn't stop the urge the wipe the cocky grin off Edward's face. I could feel Rosalie shifting in her seat next to me. Edward chuckled and leaned forward, his eyes taunting me.

Dr. Cullen interrupted before Edward could speak. "Actually, speaking of the hospital, I've been meaning to ask you something, Edward," Edward grudgingly tore his eyes away from mine and looked at his father. "I was thinking that perhaps you'd like to join us a few days a week and play some music for the children in the pediatric wing. It doesn't have to be for long. Maybe an hour or two every time you come by? I think it would help lift their spirits up."

Edward looked back at me. "No, I don't think so, dad. I don't really like being in that hospital." His eyes bore into mine. He was trying to make a point.

Point duly noted. You'd rather not be in the same building and chance running into me, that's fine.

However, it's not like I was always in pedes. In fact, I was rarely there. Edward didn't know that, though, and the desire to get back at him increased.

"Are you sure?" Dr. Cullen asked. "It'd be great for the kids."

"It's alright, Edward. Not everyone can handle being in a hospital. Don't feel bad about it." I said with a saccharine smile. Emmett laughed from his seat next to Edward.

Edward frowned at me and then looked away quickly. "That's not what I meant."

"It's great that you're man enough to admit a weakness," I went on. "Especially in front of so many people." I raised my voice a little and waved my hand toward the people at the other end of the table. Their voices lowered and they turned towards us. I could see Edward's jaw clenching and unclenching.

"You're afraid of hospitals?" Emmett asked, his eyes sparkling.

"I'm not afraid of hospitals." Edward said from behind gritted teeth. Rosalie muffled her laugh into her napkin.

"You're not? Then why don't you want to come by? Don't you want to help the sick children?" I pouted slightly. I was the picture of concern, except for the teasing look in my eyes. Edward glared at my performance.

"Dude, go play for the kids. It's my birthday. Make me happy." Emmett winked at me and pounded Edward on the back.

Edward looked up and down the table at all the expecting faces. He growled. "Fine."

I smirked. "It'll be great."

"Great." Edward muttered, running his hand through his hair.

"It's a date!" Emmett chuckled, spearing another piece of chocolate cake. I mentally patted myself on the back as everyone went back to their own private conversations.

Edward's eyes turned back to me at that. "I don't know if your boyfriend would like for us to call it a date, Bella."

I blinked, equally surprised by his statement and that he was actually willingly directing something at me. "I don't have a boyfriend."

Edward raised his eyebrows at me. "Right…" he said disbelievingly, his velvety voice lowering into a purr. "So that wasn't you I saw the other night?"

I laughed in spite of myself. "You mean Mike? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Edward looked at me coldly. The intensity of his gaze surprised and unnerved me. "That's a rather blasé attitude you have towards men."

"What?" It was my turn to raise my eyebrows.

"Chew them up and spit them out, is that what you do?" The ferocity behind his voice was astounding.

"What the hell are you talking about?" My mouth fell open. Maybe he really was bipolar.

Edward laughed dryly. "I'm just talking about your type."

"My type?"

"You know. Cold. You think you're better than every man because you're a doctor, yet you're not above playing some games with them. You lead them on. You use them." Edward listed in a dead voice.

My ears tingled with fury. He couldn't have been further from the truth. "Who are you to even try to judge me?"

"I'm just an observer." Edward said stiffly.

"Maybe you should keep your observations to yourself, especially when you're dead wrong." I said heatedly. "You don't know the first thing about me."

"You don't know anything about me either, and yet you've already been judging _me_!" Edward snapped back.

"It's not my fault you make it so easy! I just call them like I see them!" I retorted.

We glared at each other. I noticed that I was leaning forward, my elbow in my cake and that he was also sitting on the edge of his chair, his body practically on the table.

Emmett cleared his throat. Our eyes snapped to him. He was grinning slightly. "What's the problem now?"

"He thinks Mike is my boyfriend." I explained lamely.

Clearly, that was what our entire argument was about. Let us ignore the fact that we were both panting and growling at each other in the middle of a birthday dinner with my boss and friends present.

Emmett and Rosalie burst out laughing. Edward frowned at them. I took the opportunity to discretely wipe my elbow of frosting.

"You mean Mike, the missing member of the Ambiguously Gay Duo?" Emmett chortled. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dr. Cullen's lips twitch. Edward stared at Emmett. I could see the gears turning in his head.

"He's just our friend," Rosalie explained, wiping a stray tear from her eye. "He's our not-so-gay gay friend."

Edward looked back at me, a frustrated look on his face, and I shot him another glare.

Call me blasé again, you bastard.

***********************************************************

After the dessert debacle, I excused myself from the table and hid outside on the patio. I shivered slightly from the cold. I had no idea what had just happened in the last ten minutes of dinner. One minute, Edward was glaring at me and doing everything possible to avoid future contact with me, and the next, he was attacking and berating me.

He seriously needed a psych consult.

I huffed in anger and walked towards a bench away from the light streaming through the glass door.

Stupid Edward. Stupid Men.

Shrouded in darkness, I curled up on the bench and bit my lip to keep from crying.

I didn't think I'd ever met someone who disliked me as much as he did. I hadn't done anything to him, yet he just hated everything about me. I wasn't sure why I cared, and that added to my worries. He should have been on my list of people to throw into a volcano, yet instead of cheerfully chucking him in, I was obsessed with finding out why he held such a grudge against me.

Why the hell did I care so much? Why did it hurt?

I was lost in my thoughts when the glass door opened and Edward stepped out. He didn't see me, and he walked towards the fire pit. I saw as he stood there, slumped slightly, raking his fingers repeatedly through his hair.

I turned away bitterly.

Screw this. Screw him and his perfect hair and perfect body and his horrible words.

I stood up silently and walked towards the door. Edward stiffened at the sound of my heels clicking against the tiles. I paused as he turned around slowly, his eyes wild and disoriented. When he saw it was me, his lips opened slightly and his eyes got that frustrated look to them once more.

What the hell was that look about?

We stared at each other for a minute before he frowned and looked at the ground again.

"Bella…" He murmured.

"Stop. I don't even want to hear you." I held my hand out as if I could physically stop his words.

He glanced at my hand and walked slowly towards me. I narrowed my eyes at his approaching form.

Okay, time to turn around and walk away, Bella.

… Okay, now.

…Alright, how about now?

….Any minute now…

His piercing green eyes glued my feet to the spot as he continued to slowly approach me. When he was within arms reach, he stopped and sighed.

"I'm sorry. My behavior was uncalled for. I jumped to conclusions and said things about you that were completely unwarranted." Edward apologized stiffly. I held my breath, waiting for the catch. When none came, I slowly nodded.

"I'm sorry, too. I probably said some things that I shouldn't have as well," I grudgingly admitted. "At least not in front of your parents and my boss." I added, not being able to help myself.

Edward's lips slightly turned up at my reluctant apology. He nodded as well, and then turned back towards the fire pit. I cocked my head stupidly as his retreating body.

Uh…? That was it?

That wasn't enough.

Quickly, I clicked my way back to him. "Look, Edward. I know that you and I don't get along and I'm not going to pretend that we're going to be all buddy-buddy now. But your brother is dating my best friend and chances are, we're going to see each other from now on," Edward frowned slightly at my words. Huh. Don't look so happy about it, pal. I continued, ignoring his expression though it hurt me a bit. "So, can we just try to act friendly? Can we just _try_ to be friends?"

Edward looked up at the sky as he considered my words. After a few minutes of silence, I shifted uncomfortably. Could this be any more humiliating? I hadn't asked someone to be my friend since second grade, and I'd definitely had never had this response before.

Finally, he looked back down at me. His eyes looked a little sad. "No, I'm afraid we shouldn't be friends, Bella. I really am sorry."

With those words, he turned and went back into the house, leaving me standing on the patio frozen to the spot. My heart twisted painfully in my chest.

Apparently he just couldn't get over hating me.

**********************************************************

A/N #2 - I wanted to slap my Edward. Did you guys want to as well? Please, review and let me know what you thought!


End file.
